Venugopal will work for Congress but won't fight Lok Sabha polls

Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said on Sunday that he would not contest the Lok Sabha election on account of his organisational responsibilities. Talking to journalists here, Venugopal, who represents Kerala's Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency in Lok Sabha, said he had conveyed his decision to the party leadership in the state.

Venugopal is the Congress General Secretary in charge of the organisation. "It is my responsibility to do my duty for the party. Also, I am in charge of (party affairs in) Karnataka. Contesting polls in Alappuzha by sitting in Delhi will be an injustice to my voters. I am personally interested in fighting polls but the party's interests are supreme. In this context, there are practical difficulties for me to fighting the election in Alappuzha," he said.

Venugopal said, "I have conveyed my decision to KPCC President Mullappally Ramachandran, AICC General Secretary Oommen Chandy and Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala." Venugopal replaced Ashok Gehlot in January in a reshuffle in the All India Congress Committee (AICC), days after Gehlot took over as the Rajasthan Chief Minister.

The parliamentary election in Kerala will be held in one-phase on April 23, the Election Commission announced on Sunday. The CPI(M) has fielded its popular face and sitting MLA A M Aarif from Alappuzha constituency.