KC Venugopal not to contest Lok Sabha elections 2019, will focus on party work

New Delhi, Mar 10: Congress MP from Kerala's Alappuzha constituency KC Venugopal, who is also party's General Secretary and in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka, will not contest the upcoming general elections and would focus on his organisational responsibilities.

He said contesting polls in Alappuzha, Kerala, by sitting in Delhi will be an "injustice to my voters". Venugopal said he had conveyed his decision to the party leadership in the state.

"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 election in Alappuzha," he 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," he added.

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.

The Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19 and the results will be declared on May 23.

The 1st phase of polling to be held on 11th April, Second phase of polling would be held on 18th April, Third phase of polling would be held on 23rd April, 4th phase polling of polling would be held on 29th April, 5th phase polling of polling would be held on 6th May, 6th phase of polling would be held on 12th May and 7th phase of polling would be held on 12th May. Counting of all phases would be held on 23rd May, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora announced today.