Veteran Congress leader A K Antony on Tuesday said his son Anil K Antony, who is contesting as BJP candidate from Pathanamthitta constituency in Kerala, should not win in the upcoming general election.
Addressing the media at the party office here, Antony said children of Congress leaders joining the rival BJP is an unfortunate trend.

Asked about the winning chances of his son, the former defence minister said, “He (Anil) should lose.”
He said Congress candidate Anto Antony will emerge victorious in Pathanamthitta.

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“Anto will win even without me campaigning there. My position from the beginning has been that family is different from politics. Do not make me talk too much about my children. I am not used to that language,” Antony said.

“It is wrong for children of Congress leaders to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It is not just an irony, it is wrong,” he added.

Recently, late Congress stalwart and former chief minister K Kaunakaran’s daughter Padmaja Venugopal had also switched sides to the saffron party.

On the Lok Sabha polls, Antony said it is the election to decide who will rule India for the next five years, “a do-or-die battle to reclaim India”. “It is an election to save India,” he said.

“It is an election to protect constitutional values. If Modi comes to power again, the constitution and democracy will be overthrown,” he said.

The Congress leader further claimed the BJP is trying to destroy the concept of India and therefore, the saffron party’s rule should end.

Antony’s public snub invited a sharp response from his son who said he has nothing but sympathy for the outdated Congress leaders who keep supporting the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Anil said his father’s criticism won’t affect his chances in Pathanamthitta.

“My father’s criticism won’t affect me. I am sure that the people of Pathanamthitta will make me win the election. I have nothing but pity towards those standing up for the Gandhi family and campaigning for an MP who insulted the army. Today, there are only outdated leaders in the Congress. The outdated Congressmen are like dogs barking at the moon,” he said.

Anil will take on three-time Congress MP Anto Antony and CPI-M leader Thomas Isaac in Pathanamthitta.