Kerala Congress Strongman K Sudhakaran Finally Relents, Declares He Will Not Contest As An Independent Candidate
The party high command stuck to its earlier decision not to field any sitting MPs in the assembly elections.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After keeping the Congress high command on edge for the past 48 hours, Kannur MP and senior party leader K Sudhakaran firmly announced he would not run as an independent candidate in the upcoming assembly polls.
His decision brought immense relief not only to the high command but also to the Kerala unit of the Congress, which is going all out to return to power.
For the past two to three days, Sudhakaran had remained adamant about contesting from Kannur. Several senior leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, A K Antony, Madhusoodhan Mistry, Ramesh Chennithala, and PCC president Sunny Joseph, tried to convince him, but he refused to relent.
The party high command stuck to its earlier decision not to field any sitting MPs in the assembly elections. His adamant stand also delayed the announcement of the second list of Congress candidates.
Rumours swirled that Sudhakaran might leave the party and run as an independent, but his pressure tactics didn’t work.
After keeping silent for two or three days, Sudhakaran finally spoke in Delhi on Thursday evening, answering questions from the large crowd of media gathered outside his residence.
When asked if he would remain in the party, Sudhakaran replied, “If I don’t continue in the party, then where will I go?” Regarding being denied a ticket to contest from Kannur, he clarified, “Denial of candidature does not mean I have been thrown out of the party.” On whether he would run as an independent candidate, he said, “No, I will not contest as an independent. I will only run if the party recognizes and supports my candidature.”
Addressing reports about forming committees in several constituencies, he explained, “These are party committees working for the organisation.” When questioned about challenging the party, he responded, “The party is very big. I am so small. How can I challenge it? I will follow party norms and campaign across the state.”
