Settling the drama surrounding the Dharmadom constituency, K Sudhakaran has reportedly told the state leadership not to recommend him as a candidate. After a long discussion with KPCC leadership and DCC members, Sudhakaran told media persons that he will not be contesting as he has the responsibility to ensure victory in at least five constituencies, and it would be a difficult task if he is contesting in the election as well. He had added that if there had been more time, then he could have considered the proposition.
On the other hand, this isn’t an official confirmation, since Mullappally Ramachandran told media persons that the High Command would make the final decision and announce it within the day. Sudhakaran added that he had recommended DCC leader C Raghunath as the candidate since the latter is a strong and experienced leader. The district leadership had gone against the party’s reported decision to support the Walayar mother instead of fielding one of their own.
On the other hand, even though the final decision is up to the high command, according to sources, they will respect Sudhakaran’s wishes and instead add Raghunath’s name. This, however, goes against the KPCC’s and Mullappally’s original reasoning. DCC had gone against the party leadership and claimed that they would field one of theirs as a rebel candidate in Dharmadom, and the leading contender was C Raghunath. Following which the leadership decided to field a candidate, but decided on K Sudhakaran since it was impertinent that the party placed a strong candidate against CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to sources, one of the main reasons for Sudhakaran to withdraw from the competition is the apparent vote lead that Pinarayi enjoyed in Dharmadom last time around. Sources pointed out that he had studied the voter list to see if there was a possibility to reduce the CM’s vote share to a minimum. Since it seemed impossible, the Kannur MP decided to withdraw from the recommendations. Currently, the state leadership is sticking to the argument that Sudhakaran’s presence is important in multiple constituencies.
