Congress leader K.V. Thomas, who raised the banner of protest after being denied a ticket for re-election from the Ernakulam Lok Sabha seat, has bucked the trend of rejected Congress leaders joining the Bharatiya Janata Party. Rebutting rumours that he was planning to join the BJP, Mr. Thomas said in New Delhi that he belonged to the Congress and would do nothing to weaken it.
He said his protest was not as much against being denied a seat, but “against the manner in which the issue was handled.” Mr. Thomas had openly expressed his resentment at not being informed that he would be kept out of the fray. The veteran has represented Ernakulam in Parliament five times and the Ernakulam Assembly seat for one full term during which he was a Minister in the Chandy Cabinet.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he had bypassed the State leadership to get a ticket. He resigned as legislator from Ernakulam. He became Minister of State with independent charge of Food and piloted the Food Security Act.
It was from this cosy perch that Mr. Thomas was dislodged. But his response that he would continue to be socially and politically active even if the Congress did not want his service triggered off speculation that he would shift his loyalties to the BJP.
Many meetings
Mr. Thomas came out with his rebuttal after a series of high-profile meetings, beginning with Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. Later, Congress political secretary Ahmed Patel and AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik also met him.
This was followed by another meeting with Mr. Chennithala at the Kerala House in Delhi, after which Mr. Thomas came up with his explanation.
“I have always expressed my opinion in party forums. But this time, I publicly expressed some views under extraordinary circumstances, leading to an unwarranted discussion. Positions and perks are not the issue. I was hurt by the approach of the party,” he said.
Easy win predicted
He said the Congress would easily win the Ernakulam seat irrespective of the candidate. He would accept whatever role the party would entrust him with.
The Congress leadership succeeded in conveying to the BJP that it would be hard for it to get disgruntled leaders for the party in Kerala.
