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The stage is set for the re-entry of K Muraleedharan, son of veteran leader late K Karunakaran, to the Congress as the state leadership is planning to formally appeal to party president Sonia Gandhi to take him back.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala on Friday said he and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will meet Gandhi early in February to request the re-admission of Muraleedharan, who broke ranks with the parent body six years ago.
Muraleedharan's desire to rejoin Congress and the death of his father in December have given momentum to his return to the party, with all senior leaders, including Defence Minister A K Antony, supporting his case.
"Me and Opposition leader Oommen Chandy will meet All India Congress Committee chief Sonia Gandhi and request her to take Muraleedharan back," Chennithala told reporters.
"We hope a favourable decision would be taken," he said. He said they would be meeting Gandhi after the completion of the ongoing 'Kerala mochana yatra' campaign headed by Chandy, which will conclude in Thiruvananthapuram on February 4.
A former KPCC president and ex-Member of Parliament, Muraleedharan was suspended from the Congress six years ago after he broke ranks with the party and floated Democratic Indira Congress - Karunakaran with the blessings of his father.
Though Karunakaran returned to the Congress after DIC-K proved to be an electoral flop, his son kept away, merging his outfit with the Nationalist Congress Party and headed its state unit for while.
After a while, Muraleedharan himself started airing his eagerness to get back to the Congress but his re-entry was opposed by sections in the state unit. Muraleedharan had been waiting for a return to the Congress after resigning as NCP's state president last year.
He had also actively worked for Congress candidates in the last local body elections.