Kerala elections: Discussions on Congress CM face will only hurt party, says MP M K Raghavan

KOZHIKODE: Senior Congress leader and Kozhikode MP M K Raghavan has come out strongly against the ongoing discussions within the party regarding a possible chief ministerial candidate. He said that the party cadres won't approve such moves. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Raghavan said that the public debates on CM post even before the ballots are counted would tarnish the party's image and would not benefit it in any way. He also criticized Ernakulam DCC president Mohammed Shiyas, accusing him of initiating the controversy. "What right does he have to make such a remark?" Raghavan asked. He also called the discussion on Congress's CM face as immature and ill-timed. Meanwhile, Raghavan said that the rigid stance taken by certain state Congress leaders against allowing sitting MPs to contest the assembly elections had prompted the party high command to take its decision. Raghavan clarified that he had no personal interest in contesting the election, but some state leaders had approached him with the suggestion that he contest from a traditionally weak seat. The idea, he said, was that his candidacy could help the party win an additional seat. "However, the same leaders later went to Delhi and opposed the participation of sitting MPs in the assembly elections," Raghavan added.