THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Veteran Congress leader A K Antony donned the role of a saviour for the state Congress on Thursday as he urged party leaders to forget about the assembly polls and focus on the 2024 Lok Sabha election. In a warning to MPs who announced their interest to switch to state politics, state Congress president K Sudhakaran said it’s the party that takes a call on candidates. Meanwhile, Youth Congress state president Shafi Parambil made a veiled attack on Shashi Tharoor. At the party executive meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, he said there was no dearth of chief minister hopefuls in the state.
The party leadership including Antony feared a backlash after some MPs openly expressed the desire to switch to state politics. Initiating the discussion at the meeting Antony said the primary focus should be on the imminent LS election. He cautioned that if sitting MPs keep harping on their desire to contest in the assembly poll, it could backfire in the LS election. With just 14 months remaining for the poll, UDF has a herculean task of defending its 19 sitting seats. “There should be no discussion on the 2026 assembly election. The sole agenda before the party should be nothing but the LS poll,” said Antony.
Taking a cue from Antony, Sudhakaran told the MPs that the party will take a call on their fate. He said under no circumstances will Congress tolerate such statements from leaders. UDF convener M M Hassan made it clear that MPs can step down if they are unhappy with their Lok Sabha roles. Sudhakaran was not spared either. Some leaders blamed him for the inordinate delay in completing organisational revamping.
However it was Shafi who came out hard on Tharoor.
“A leader has been proclaiming himself as the CM candidate, on the street. He then meets religious and community leaders and addresses the media. Has the party entrusted anyone to come up with such statements? First of all the leaders should work at the grassroots level. An actor will not excel without support from the producer and director. Those leaders endorsing CM hopefuls should also be reined in,” said Shafi.