I.M. Vijayan refuses to contest for Congress

Thrissur: I.M. Vijayan, a legendary footballer from Kerala, on Saturday informed the Congress that he was not interested to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls for the party from the Alathur constituency.

Speaking to the media here, Vijayan, who now works with the Kerala Police, said he was approached by his close friend and local Congress legislator Anil Akkara regarding the seat.

"It was K. Karunakaran who got me a job in the Kerala Police first and I am always indebted to the Congress leader for it. Then I left Kerala and played in Kolkata and Punjab and after finishing from there, it was Kodiyeri Balakrishnan (present CPI-M state secretary) who again drafted me back into the Kerala Police. I have now another six more years to retire and after that, we will take a call on what to do," said Vijayan.

"And hence I am not interested to contest the elections."

An Arjuna awardee, Vijayan was crowned the "Indian Player of the Year" in 1993, 1997 and 1999, the first player to win the award multiple times.

The Congress in Kerala is making all efforts to regain the Alathur seat, which is a CPI-M stronghold.