Surprise announcement! MP K Muraleedharan to contest opposite Suresh Gopi in Thrissur

NEW DELHI: Congress is all set to make a surprise during the candidate announcement on Friday morning. It is rumoured that K Muraleedharan, the incumbent MP who had already started his campaigning work from Vadakara, will be fielded in Thrissur instead. The surprising shift in the constituency was made in the wake of Padmaja Venugopal’s switch to BJP and also after the congress discerned the surging popularity of BJP candidate Suresh Gopi in Thrissur. Meanwhile, it is also confirmed that KC Venugopal will contest in Alappuzha.

According to details, it was the opposition leader’s suggestion to field K Muraleedharan from his old turf of Thrissur, where he once tasted defeat in 2004. The leadership believe Muraleedharan’s candidature will serve as an instant antidote to the setback created by Padmaja’s resignation from Congress.

With Muraleedharan moving to Thrissur, the name of T. Siddique has come to the fore in the Vadakara constituency. Although the party is considering the name of Shafi Parampil for Vadakara, the decision to try Siddique is based on the assessment that it will not be easy to find a replacement candidate in the Palakkad assembly seat if a by-election is called for.

With Muraleedharan coming to Thrissur, it has been confirmed that TN Prathapan will not contest the Lok Sabha elections. Instead, Prathapan will be given a seat in the assembly elections. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi is all set to contest from Wayanad for a second time.