Thrissur: Veteran actor KPAC Lalitha bowed herself out from the contest, putting an end to the controversy that surrounded her candidature after CPM state committee's move to field her at Wadakkanchery.
Ms. Lalitha, who returned from Pune on Sunday after a private function, informed CPM district secretary A.C. Moideen of her decision and cited her health as the reason for her withdrawal.
A series of protests had erupted when the name of Ms. Lalitha, wife of late director Bharatan, appeared in the list of CPM probables. On Sunday, a group of protesters clad in red shirts demanded that the constituency needed a dedicated party worker as CPM candidate and not somebody who was "parachuted" into the constituency. They had alleged that the party had overlooked the demands of grass-root level workers.
However, the CPM district committee had maintained that the protesters were not CPM members. Meanwhile, Ms. Lalitha has clarified that it was not the protests that triggered her exit.
“I suffer from back pain and my health is weak. I can't stand for more than 15 minutes at a stretch. I may be able to act in films in such a condition but contesting in election will be too much. Both of them are entirely different,” she told media persons on Monday.
