'Not In The Mood To Contest Kerala Assembly Election': Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan

Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan on Saturday said he was not inclined to contest the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections and had left the matter to the party leadership, even as posters backing his candidature appeared in different parts of the state.

Speaking to reporters after posters surfaced in Kayamkulam in Alappuzha district and Thiruvambadi in Kozhikode district, Muraleedharan, son of former Chief Minister K Karunakaran, said he personally felt it was time to step back from electoral contests.

“I am not in the mood to contest elections. Let the party decide. It is not right to contest in every election, and I have thought of staying away,” he said.

The Congress leader added that his current focus was on organisational work in Thiruvananthapuram,

where he said a triangular political battle was expected in the coming polls.

“I have conveyed my opinion to the party. Let the party make a decision,” he reiterated.

On the posters that have cropped up across several locations, Muraleedharan distanced himself from the campaign, remarking that they were visible almost everywhere except in Payyannur and Kalliasseri.

“Whether it is because of affection or as a form of punishment, I do not know. In any case, I have nothing to do with them,” he said.

Responding to Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty’s recent challenge to Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan to contest from Nemom, Muraleedharan asserted that the United Democratic Front (UDF) would put up a new and young face who could defeat both Sivankutty and BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

He alleged that Sivankutty had thrown the challenge with the intention of splitting anti-BJP votes.

“But Sivankutty will not get the votes he received last time,” he said.

Muraleedharan went on to accuse the minister of acting as an “agent of the RSS”, claiming that he was the only non-BJP leader to have sought the arrest of Sonia Gandhi in the Sabarimala gold case.

“If he won last time with minority votes, this time he will not get the support of either the majority or the minority communities,” he added.

Reacting to Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s remark that the election would essentially be a contest between the UDF and the BJP, Muraleedharan said that was only partly correct.

“It is a contest between a CPI(M)-BJP joint force and the UDF. He mentioned only the BJP, but we see the BJP along with the CPI(M). That is the speciality of this election,” he said, dubbing the combination “CJP (Communist-BJP)”.

He also noted that there was sentiment within the party against sitting MPs contesting Assembly elections, citing public dissatisfaction over repeated bypolls.

According to him, the final call would rest with the party high command, and the UDF’s list of candidates would feature a mix of younger leaders and seasoned figures.