Congress leader Muraleedharan says not in 'mood' to contest Kerala Assembly polls

Thrissur (Kerala): Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan on Saturday said that he was not in the "mood" to contest the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections and that the decision should be left to the party.

He was speaking to reporters after posters supporting his candidature appeared at Kayamkulam in Alappuzha district and at Thiruvambadi in Kozhikode district.

Muraleedharan is the senior party leader and son of former Chief Minister K Karunakaran.

"I am not in the mood to contest elections. Let the party decide. It is not right to contest in every election, and I have thought of staying away," he said.

The Congress leader said his plan was to focus on party work in Thiruvananthapuram, where a triangular contest is expected.

"I have conveyed my opinion to the party. Let the party make a decision," he said.

Commenting on posters that have appeared in his support across various places, Muraleedharan said such posters were seen everywhere except Payyannur and Kalliasseri.

"Whether it is because of affection or as a form of punishment, I do not know. In any case, I have nothing to do with them," he said.

Reacting to Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty’s recent challenge to Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan to contest from Nemom, Muraleedharan said the UDF would field a new and young candidate who would defeat both Sivankutty and BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

He alleged that Sivankutty’s intention behind that challenge was to divide anti-BJP votes.

"But Sivankutty will not get the votes he received last time," he said.

Muraleedharan further alleged that Sivankutty had become an "agent of the RSS", claiming he was the only non-BJP leader who had demanded the arrest of Sonia Gandhi in the Sabarimala gold case.

"If he won last time with minority votes, this time he will not get the support of either the majority or the minority communities," he said.

Reacting to Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s remark that the election would be a contest between the UDF and the BJP, Muraleedharan said that was partly true.

"It is a contest between a CPI(M)-BJP joint force and the UDF. He mentioned only the BJP, but we see the BJP along with the CPI(M). That is the speciality of this election," he said, describing the alliance as "CJP (Communist-BJP)".

He also said there was a demand within the party that sitting MPs should not contest the Assembly elections, as people were unhappy with frequent bypolls.

He said the final decision would be taken by the party high command, adding that the UDF candidates' list would include both youth and experienced leaders.