Puducherry Assembly Election | Former home minister not to contest election

Senior Congress leader and former home minister E. Valsaraj on Thursday announced not to contest the assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference at the state Congress Committee office here, the former minister said that his decision not to contest the election was sent back to the party high command only in 2016.

“This is not a sudden decision or anything to do with the current political situation in the Union Territory. I represented Mahe constituency for six consecutive terms till 2016. And after failing to retain the seat in the 2016 election, I have informed my party leadership about the decision not to contest the election, ”he said.

It was decided to pave the way for the younger generation in the party to contest the election, with Mr. Valsaraj saying that he would continue to serve the party in various ways. He said that a few days ago PCC appointed him as the vice-president.

Asked whether the Congress party was weakened after the resignation of top leaders recently, he said, “Congress is a family and people come and go. Even when the Congress became weak in Tamil Nadu, the people of the Union Territory were with the Congress. It is the largest party of the Union Territory and will continue to be so.

Mr. Valsaraj said that he started his political life as a Youth Congress worker. “The party gave me everything, and the current decision not to contest elections was only to make way for the youth to contest elections. I p. Former Chief Ministers. Shanmugam, n. Rangasamy and V. Worked under Vaithilingam and am grateful to all of them for their support. “

When asked about his relationship with Mr. Rangasamy, the four-time minister said, “I share a good friendship with him, but the relationship is different from politics.”