Alappuzha (Kerala), Mar 18 (PTI) A district Congress leader on Wednesday revolted in AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal’s home turf, Alappuzha, over the party’s candidates’ list for the upcoming Assembly polls and announced that he will contest as an independent in the key Kuttanad constituency.
Venugopal represents the Alappuzha constituency in the Lok Sabha.
As the grand-old party is busy finalising its candidates list for the April 9 polls, its DCC vice president Saji Joseph on Wednesday resigned from the party in this coastal district and announced he would contest as an independent candidate from the Kuttanad Assembly constituency.
The leadership’s decision to give the Kuttanad seat to the UDF ally, Kerala Congress (Joseph) faction, against the reported request of the local Congress leaders and workers, irked Joseph and those who support him.
Addressing a press conference here, he said that there had been persistent demands within the Congress here to reclaim the Kuttanad seat and field a party candidate there.
Declaring himself a rebel candidate, Joseph said he would take on the official UDF nominee in the upcoming polls scheduled for April 9 as a mark of protest.
The press conference also witnessed emotional scenes as the leader broke down while speaking about his long association with the Congress, stating that he had been part of the movement “since birth” and had made significant sacrifices for the party.
He maintained that he had never shied away from agitations, including police action during protests.
However, Joseph said his decision to contest was driven by the need to protect the “self-respect” of the people of Kuttanad.
Calling it a fight against “two major financial forces,” Joseph admitted that he faces serious financial constraints in mounting his campaign but expressed confidence in securing a decisive victory.
He further claimed that several party workers and leaders would quit the Congress and join him in his campaign.
Ruling out any possibility of withdrawing from the contest, Joseph also expressed sadness over leaving the Grand Old Party.
Earlier in the day, Saji Joseph hit hard at the leadership of both the Congress-led UDF and CPI (M)-headed LDF in a Facebook post.
In the FB post, he alleged that both the UDF and the LDF have reduced Kuttanad to a “commodity” for wealthy interests, ignoring the region’s pressing issues while selecting candidates for the Assembly elections.
He criticised the UDF for what he described as “sacrificing Kuttanad before financial powers” despite claims of fighting for justice for the area.
“The people of Kuttanad will never forgive the UDF and LDF leadership for treating the region as a mere object for political and financial transactions,” the leader alleged. PTI LGK ADB
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