Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony exuded confidence that UDF candidate Anto Antony will win in Pathanamthitta, where his son Anil Antony is also fighting the general elections as the NDA candidate. 

When asked about Anil Antony’s chances, the veteran leader urged not to make him speak much about the matter. ”Since I entered politics, I have kept my family separate from politics…,” he said. Antony, however, said his son's party should lose and Congress’ Anto Antony should win. 

“The BJP’s golden era In Kerala has ended with the last general elections. They could garner many votes exploiting the then burning issue of women’s entry in Sabarimala. But this election will be different,” he added.

“The Congress is my religion", Antony said, reacting to repeated queries about his son's politics. 

When asked if he would go to Pathanamthitta for the election campaigning, Antony said,  “Even if I don’t go campaigning, Anto Antony will win with flying colours.”  Owing to health reasons, Antony said he could not go to the constituency.

Antony also held the flow of children of prominent Congress leaders to the BJP as “not just irony, but wrong".“The Congress is my religion", Antony said, reacting to repeated queries about his son's politics. 

“With this election, the BJP rule should end. Narendra Modi’s rule should end. The RSS’s backseat driving should end. That should be the goal of this election.If Modi is elected to power once more, the basic values of the Constitution will be upset,” Antony, also the former Defence Minister said. (with inputs from PTI)