Muraleedharan's defeat: Three-member inquiry committee in Thrissur tomorrow

THRISSUR: A three-member committee will start an inquiry tomorrow into the reasons why UDF candidate K Muraleedharan lost in Thrissur in the Lok Sabha elections. A committee comprising former MLA KC Joseph, Adv T Siddique MLA and INTUC state president R Chandrasekaran will reach Thrissur to collect preliminary information. Meanwhile, Palakkad MP VK Sreekandan will take charge today as Thrissur DCC President.

It was an embarrassment to the Congress that Muraleedharan finished third in Thrissur, in spite of the UDF wave. The main task of the committee is to find out the reason behind this. It will hold discussions with leaders and party workers of all sections. It is alleged that Muraleedharan suffered the defeat as a section of the Congress leadership operated against him without forming effective election committees or booth committees. There were no booth committees in as many as 8 places in an assembly constituency. Senior leaders said Muraleedharan revealed that there were no booth committees in around 250 places. Meanwhile, the Congress officially claimed that the 2023 committees were formed.

The party will also conduct an inquiry into the defeat of Alathur sitting MP Ramya Haridas. The constituency that was captured from the LDF in 2019 was lost. BJP got one lakh more votes when compared to the previous election. Mainly Congress votes were leaked. The disagreement that party leaders had with Ramya also contributed to the defeat.