Discontent is brewing in the Kuttanad unit of the Kerala Congress (M) led by K.M. Mani. Jose Koipally, the State president of the Nel Karshaka Union, a farmers’ wing of the party, and former vice president of the Champakkulam block panchayat, has resigned from the party. He has also announced his decision to contest the Assembly election from the Kuttanad Assembly constituency.
Mr. Jose said the party had done injustice to him by deciding to field another candidate (Jacob Abraham) to contest in Kuttanad. He said the selection was done not on the basis of merit.
“It was at the instance of a non-resident Indian based in Qatar that the seat was allocated to the candidate, a member of the Joseph group within the party,” he told The Hindu . Mr. Jose had been a Mani loyalist.
Mr. Jose, who was a member of the steering committee of the party, said he decided to contest as an Independent to keep up his principled stand in politics.
The political developments indicated that ordinary people were not in the reckoning.
Otherwise, how could a person of his stature who had worked sincerely be overlooked, he asked.
Probably it was because he belonged to a family of farmers, he said. He hoped that his contest would be able to send signals to shun unfair practices in politics.
Nel Karshaka Union State president Jose Koipally to contest as Independent
