PALAKKAD: Congress has decided to take back Malampuzha seat offered to one of its allies, the Bharathiya National Janata Dal (BNJD) and contest on its own following widespread protests from its local cadre.The protests by Congress cadre which began in Pudussery on Friday evening continued on Saturday also. Congress activists staged a march in Pudussery and held a meeting at the NSS convention centre on Saturday to protest against the decision to hand over the Malampuzha seat to BNJD.
Vijay Hrudhayaraj, Pudussery block Congress committee president, said that a resolution was passed demanding that a Congress candidate should contest in the Malampuzha seat on hand symbol. He said that handing over of Malampuzha seat to BNJD, a weak ally, would amount to helping the BJP candidate, which is suicidal for Congress.
On Saturday, the state leadership of Congress finally decided to contest in the seat on its own on the back of protests. Moreover, John John, state president of BNJD, told TNIE that the state committee of the party met in Thrissur on Saturday and stated that they were not interested in Malampuzha seat.