AICC general secretary K C Venugopal asks Congress leaders to avoid self-declaring candidature ahead of assembly polls

Wayanad: AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on Sunday said Congress leaders should refrain from making self-announcements about their candidature in the upcoming Assembly election.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of Lakshya 2026, a two-day leadership camp organised as part of preparations for the Assembly polls, at Sultan Bathery here.

"We should not make self-announcements about candidature. Let us wait for the party's declared decision," Venugopal said.


He said leaders have the freedom to hold discussions with the party leadership.

"You can raise demands before the leadership and use all such opportunities, but candidature-related discussions should be restricted in public forums," he said.

Venugopal said the Congress-led UDF faces both the CPI(M) and the BJP as common rivals.

However, the results of the recent local body elections showed that Congress can effectively take on both parties.

"The victory has given confidence to Congress workers that even if the CPI(M) and BJP combine, we can face them," he said.

He said the local body election victory should make Congress leaders more humble.

"People are the masters of democracy. We should humbly strengthen our political activities before the public over the next four months," he added.

Venugopal said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's confidence about coming to power for a third consecutive term had suffered a setback after the local body election results.

"But Pinarayi will not sit back. There are backstage discussions going on," he said.

He alleged that the CPI(M) and the BJP have a secret alliance, which, he claimed, has become evident in recent months.

He further alleged that the haste shown by the Kerala government in matters related to certain central projects pointed to an unholy pact between the two parties.

"This alliance is not liked by workers of either party. It exists to protect the interests of certain leaders in both camps and will continue into the Assembly election," he said.

Lakshya 2026 is being organised to discuss strategies for the upcoming Assembly polls and is being attended by prominent Congress leaders, including KPCC leaders, party MLAs, MPs and leaders of affiliated organisations.

Venugopal said the Congress has decided to announce its candidates well ahead of the election notification and move forward with campaign activities.

Recently, the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly had said that 50 per cent of the party's candidates would be women and young leaders.