Karuna told to find a new party name

Former Kerala chief minister K Karunakaran suffered a setback today with the Election Commission refusing to register his party as National Congress (Indira).

According to an EC spokesman, the registration has been declined ‘‘because its name resembles that of an existing party.’’ K Muraleedharan, president of the breakaway faction of the Congress, has been asked to ‘‘opt for another name,’’ the spokesman added.

The EC order follows a representation by the Congress general secretary against the new outfit’s name. He pointed out that the name strictly belongs to his party, Indian National Congress Indira.