The incumbent Congress MP from Kerala’s Thrissur, TN Prathapan, has been appointed as the Working President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). In a last-minute decision, the Congress High Command had decided to field Vadakara MP K Muraleedharan from Thrissur instead of Prathapan.

A communication in this regard came on Tuesday, March 12, evening from All India Congress Committee General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal.

Prathapan had earlier expressed his desire not to be fielded for the Lok Sabha polls, but was asked to contest the elections and had even started printing posters for his poll campaign in Thrissur.

“That is how politics is. It is unpredictable. It also depends on the situation and timing of a situation. After taking into consideration the recent developments, the party has decided to field Muraleedharan and I support that decision,” Prathapan had told the media and said that he wishes to see the Congress party win from Thrissur. “For me, it is the party that matters, not whether I contest or not,” he added. 

A three-time legislator, Prathapan returned to contest the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat in 2019 after a three-year absence, and went on to win by a margin of over 93,000 votes. Suresh Gopi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Thrissur had said that he was not bothered about who contests against him and that he is sure of a victory from Thrissur. “Even if candidates are changed, it is the voters who decide who will win,” he said. 

(With inputs from IANS)