Kannur (Kerala), March 16 Kerala's ruling CPI(M) suffered a major setback on Monday, as veteran party leader T.K. Govindan severed all ties with the organization and announced his intention to contest as an independent candidate from the Marxist stronghold of Taliparamba.
He announced his decision to contest as an independent in protest against the Left party's decision to field state secretary M.V. Govindan's wife, P.K. Shyamala, in Taliparamba.
A member of the Marxist party's Kannur district secretariat and currently serving as chairman of state-run Handveev, Govindan has played a crucial role in strengthening the party in the district, which is considered a stronghold of the CPI(M).
Addressing a press conference here, the veteran said he was ending his nearly six-decade-long association with the party as a mark of protest against Shyamala's candidature.
Govindan said the party's decision "does not conform to political ethics."
According to him, seniority and other factors were ignored while selecting the candidate.
He described the candidate selection process in Taliparamba as one that went against organizational norms.
"What happened in Taliparamba is injustice. It was against the party's ethics and organizational norms," he said.
He said he formally notified the leadership that he was severing ties with the party and would explain to the people the reasons behind his exit.
He claimed that there had been strong criticism against Shyamala's candidature in the district committee and the matter had been conveyed to state leadership, but the concerns were ignored.
Targeting the party state secretary, he said the senior leader was trying to bring his wife into the position as he had already completed three continuous terms as MLA.
"If this trend continues, the party will be destroyed. Corrupt elements are being protected. And those who point out the corruption are being punished in the party," he alleged.
Govindan also expressed his willingness to accept support from the opposition UDF, but made it clear that he would not accept any backing from communal forces.
As the April 9 election is just days away, the development has reportedly put the CPI(M) leadership on the defensive in the district.
