THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KPCC president Mullapally Ramachandran will not contest the coming assembly election in Kerala. The KPCC president has informed the 40-member Election Committee meeting about his decision not to contest in the 2021 Assembly elections. But a final decision on the 76-year-old leader's candidature will be taken by the AICC leadership.
At the meeting, Mullapally maintained that as KPCC president, it is his responsibility to ensure that the UDF returns to power. Mullapally was appointed as the KPCC president in September 2018. He had represented Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency twice and before delimitation, he had represented Kannur LS constituency four times.
There was immense pressure from a section of Mullapally’s loyalists as well as from the AICC leadership that he should contest from one of the seats in Malabar. Kalpetta in Wayanad and Koyilandi and Vatakara in Kozhikode district were the seats which were initially considered for Mullapally. But now with Mullapally categorically claiming that he will not be contesting, the plans of KPCC working president K Sudhakaran have been upset. Kannur MP Sudhakaran had been eying the KPCC president post for quite some time. A KPCC office bearer close to Mullapally told The New Indian Express that Sudhakaran’s hopes have been dashed now.
“Following the poll setback in the civic body elections, Sudhakaran’s supporters went to the extent of putting up flex boards in favour of him in vantage positions across the state proclaiming to bring him to the helm of the party to save the Congress. This had not gone down well with the AICC leadership where AICC general secretary in charge of the state Tariq Anwar had expressed his displeasure before the media openly. Sudhakaran was aiming to become the KPCC president when Mullapally would contest in the Assembly elections,” said a KPCC office bearer.
Mullapally is certain that the UDF will come back to power following the AICC’s survey report and that way he can always claim credit for it. Congress sources reveal that next year when CWC leader A K Antony’s Rajya Sabha term expires, Mullapally can easily claim a ticket to New Delhi.