LS polls: Demand for K.C. Venugopal's candidature from Alappuzha growing

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 13 (IANS) As the Lok Sabha polls draw near, the demand for AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal in his second home-Alappuzha is increasing by the day with party leaders pledging full support if he contests from the district.

At a party meeting held last evening at the historically called, ‘Venice of the East’, ( Alappuzha) a name coined by Lord Curzon, as it is a town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, the calls for Venugopal, popularly known as KC, to return grew louder.

Veteran Congress legislator and former state party chief Ramesh Chennithala underlined that Alappuzha wants KC back as the party candidate at the polls.

"If he decides to contest, I will be leading his election campaign," said Chennithala amidst a thunderous applause from the huge audience.

Hailing from the CPI(M) bastion of Kannur, 60-year-old KC entered the Congress fresh after being the Youth Congress president.

As a 33-year-old, he won his first Assembly polls in 1996 from Alappuzha and since then he has not tasted a defeat and his stock has only grown.

Today he holds the position of AICC general secretary in charge of Organisation.

After 1996, he won two more Assembly polls and in 2004 became a state cabinet minister in the first Oommen Chandy government in 2004.

In 2009, while being an Opposition legislator, he was a surprise pick to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Alappuzha.

He won that battle effortlessly and repeated in 2014 and in between he was also made a Union Minister.

However, in 2019, KC decided not to contest from Alappuzha and when the Congress-led UDF swept the polls by winning 19 out of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, Alappuzha turned 'Left', when it’s sitting legislator A.M.Arif won the seat.

And it's in that scenario, the Congress which aims to win all the 20 seats, wants KC to return to his second home and a decision in this regard is expected in coming weeks.

KC today is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan and according to top state Congress leaders, the ball is in his court to take the call.