THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three senior leaders including KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran informed the party of their decision not to contest in the polls this time.
The other two leaders who announced their decision at the Congress election committee meeting are former KPCC president VM Sudheeran and 79-year-old former Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien.
Over the last few months, speculation has been rife that Mullappally would contest from Kalpetta in Wayanad or from Koyilandy or Vadakara in Kozhikode or even from Kannur.
At the meeting, 76-year-old Mullappally said as KPCC president, it is his responsibility to ensure that the UDF returns to power.
Despite pressure from his loyalists in the party and also from the AICC leadership, Mullappally informed the election committee members that he has convinced the Congress high command on his firm decision not to contest.
“The AICC leadership has accepted my decision. None can dissuade me from it,” Mullappally said at the meeting.
Interestingly, his decision has upset KPCC working president K Sudhakaran’s plans. The Kannur MP had been eying the KPCC president post for quite sometime.
A KPCC office-bearer close to Mullappally told TNIE that Sudhakaran’s hopes have been dashed now.
“Soon after the party’s setback in the civic body elections, Sudhakaran’s supporters had gone to the extent of putting up flex boards in vantage positions across the state clamouring for him being made the chief to save the Congress. This had not gone down well with the Congress high command and AICC general secretary in charge of the state Tariq Anwar had expressed his displeasure openly before the media,” he said.