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Krishnakumar withdraws nomination

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI SEPT. 9. The former Union Minister, S. Krishnakumar, today withdrew his nomination to contest the September 23 by-election to the Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency.

Mr. Krishnakumar announced his decision this morning at a press conference. He said that he had decided to contest the by-election as an independent candidate with tacit support from the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, he said that the equations had drastically changed since the time he had decided to leave the Congress early this month and that the relevance of his candidature was rundown.

He claimed that the State BJP leaders had promised to back him in the by-election. Besides, he said, the SNDP Yogam general secretary, Vellappally Natesan, had described him as the "ideal'' candidate for the Ernakulam by-election. Under the changed circumstances, however, the SNDP too had revised its stand on support to him, Mr. Krishnakumar said.

He also released to the media copies of the letter he had written to the All India Congress Committee president, Sonia Gandhi, listing out the reasons for his resignation from the party he served for more than two decades.

The letter said: "I write this letter to you as I stand at the cross-roads in my career and life after being unjustly denied my rightful place in the party.''

The letter said that after the former Chief Minister, K. Karunakaran, introduced his children K. Muraleedharan and Padmaja Venugopal into politics, "he (Mr. Karunakaran) has been continuously obstructing my career.''

The letter also alleged that it was at the instance of Mr. Karunakaran that income-tax raids and FERA investigations were carried out on him and his wife, Usha Krishnakumar.

"Even though there was no charge or proceeding pending against me in any court, I was denied a legitimate seat in Kerala in the last two parliamentary elections,'' said the letter.

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