A day after former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress stalwart K Karunakaran’s daughter Padmaja Venugopal joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, reports have emerged that the Congress has decided to reshuffle their candidate list for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party is likely to nominate K Muraleedharan, Padmaja’s brother and sitting MP from the Vadakara constituency, to contest from Thrissur, where he would be up against BJP’s Suresh Gopi and LDF’s VS Sunil Kumar.
Muraleedharan was initially slated to run from the Vadakara constituency while TN Prathapan was believed to be the party’s candidate from Thrissur, but political observers view Muraleedharan’s shift to Thrissur as a shrewd move to resist the BJP.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Palakkad, Shafi Parambil, is slated to contest from the Vadakara constituency. There are also reports that Kalpetta MLA T Siddique’s name too is doing the rounds as the party’s candidate to contest from Vadakara, since the party is looking for a Muslim representation in the constituency.
‘Party comes first’
Prior to the Congress party’s decision to field Muraleedharan from Thrissur, party workers had already begun campaigning for TN Prathapan, who was the Congress’ first choice of candidate from the constituency. However, following the latest development, Prathapan said that he is willing to step aside from the contest if the party deems it necessary.
“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 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.
‘Not worried about who contests’
Meanwhile BJP’s celebrity candidate Suresh Gopi reacted to the developments by stating that he is 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.