PALAKKAD: KPCC President K Sudhakaran admitted that it was under MP Shafi Parambil’s behest the leadership fielded Rahul Mamkootathil in Palakkad.

K Sudhakaran:

“The party accepted Shafi's proposal and made Rahul the candidate. It was not something to substitute for Shafi’s candidature in Vadakara. There were many opinions in the Palakkad DCC about the candidate. But the party reached a consensus and fielded Rahul. There is no point in controversies now.

However, the party will investigate the situation in which the DCC letter became public. It will also be enquired if the letter was leaked from the KPCC office. It should not have happened.”

This is the first time that a Congress leader has openly admitted Shafi’s role in candidate selection in Palakkad.

DCC proposed the name of K Muraleedharan as the UDF candidate in the Palakkad assembly constituency where the by-election is taking place. The letter DCC president A Thankappan sent to AICC demanding to field him came out in public on Saturday.

A part of the two-page letter was released yesterday. The letter asserted that Muraleedharan should be fielded in Palakkad to defeat the BJP. The name of Rahul Mamkootathil was not even mentioned in the probable candidate list.