KOZHIKODE : Saying an emphatic no to all efforts to placate him, Congress leader K Muraleedharan has categorically said he will not contest in the upcoming elections.
Muraleedharan, who lost from Thrissur in the LS elections, said it was his mistake to leave the Vadakara seat and he will not go to the Rajya Sabha under any circumstances. He added that what happened at the Thrissur DCC on Friday was an emotional outburst of party workers to the unexpected defeat.
“I am not in the mood to contest in elections. I don’t want the Wayanad seat either. I will not go to the Rajya Sabha for any reason. I am against it. If I go to the Rajya Sabha, everybody will think there is something wrong with my health,” Muraleedharan told reporters in Kozhikode on Saturday.
He said there is no change in his decision to abstain from active politics for a while. But he announced that he will actively campaign during the local body elections.
“Local body elections are getting closer. It is the election of party’s local workers. I will actively participate in the election along with party workers. Till then I am staying away from active politics,” he said.
Muraleedharan also poured cold water on the reported move from some corners to eject KPCC president K Sudhakaran from the post. “The Congress party has many leaders. But my opinion is that Sudhakaran should not be removed from the leadership position, especially when the Congress won 18 out of 20 seats in Kerala and the UDF came first in 110 assembly segments across the state. In this political scenario, there is no need to offer the KPCC president post to me.
Therefore, the question whether I will accept the post is irrelevant,” Muraleedharan said, while responding to a question on whether he would accept the KPCC president post offer. After meeting Muraleedharan on Friday, Sudhakaran had said he was ready to offer the post to Muraleedharan.
Muraleedharan said there should not be any conflict between party workers because of the defeat in Thrissur.