THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan, who tasted defeat in the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat, is staying away from the party’s two-day leaders’ conclave at Sultan Bathery, Wayanad.
Despite other senior leaders -- including Deepa DasMunshi, the AICC general secretary in charge of the state -- urging Muraleedharan to attend the conclave, he decided against it.
Former KPCC presidents V M Sudheeran and Mullappally Ramachandran too have stayed away from the conclave.
Following the electoral setback, the 67-year-old had decided not to take up any active political role for the time being. A three-member enquiry committee constituted by the party to probe the poll debacle in Thrissur is expected to submit its findings at the Wayanad conclave on Wednesday.
The party had also urged senior leader K C Joseph, INTUC state president R Chandrasekharan and KPCC working president T Siddique, MLA, to probe the dismal failure in the Alathur constituency.
Muraleedharan told TNIE that he is busy with local programmes in Thiruvananthapuram, which he had committed to earlier.
“I had already told the party leadership that I will become active in party programmes only at the time of the local body elections. The top brass of the leadership had invited me to attend the Wayanad conclave, but I politely declined it,” he said.
The senior leader has his eyes set on retrieving his old Vattiyoorkavu assembly seat in the 2026 election.
The conclave is deliberating on ‘Mission 2025’ to prepare the party for the local body elections in December 2025. It is reliably learnt that the top brass of the party had invited Sudheeran and Mullappally but the two senior leaders chose to give the conclave a miss.