CPI(M) Veteran TK Govindan Quits After Party Fields MV Govindan's Wife

Kerala's ruling CPI (M) suffered a major blow on Monday, as party veteran TK Govindan severed all ties with the organisation and declared his intent to contest as an independent candidate from the Marxist stronghold of Taliparamba.

He announced his decision to contest as a rebel in protest against the Left party's decision to field state secretary MV Govindan's wife, PK 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 regarded as a fortress 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.

According to him, seniority and other factors were ignored while selecting the candidate. The party's decision "does not conform to political ethics".

He described the candidate selection process in Taliparamba as one that went against organisational norms.

"What happened in Taliparamba is injustice. It was against the party's ethics and organisational norms." Alleging that "grave injustice" was taking place in the Left party, he sought to know how Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was supporting it.

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.

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, he claimed.

Targeting the party state secretary, Govindan said the senior leader was trying to bring his wife into the position as he had already completed three continuous terms as MLA.

He further alleged that Shyamala's candidature was the result of a "planned move" by MV Govindan. The state secretary had ensured that his wife was nominated again from a constituency where he had already completed three terms.

He said the present situation in the party was such that a leader himself decided that his wife should be made the candidate and warned that if such injustice were not opposed, the party would be destroyed.

"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.

Accusing the party leadership of "sidelining" senior leaders in the district such as P Jayarajan, he termed the reassignment of former health minister K K Shailaja from Mattannur constituency to Peravoor in the upcoming Assembly polls as an "exile".

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.

However, senior CPI(M) leader MV Jayarajan rejected the allegations raised by TK Govindan and called him a "traitor."

People would take a stand against such "betrayals," he told reporters here.

Jayarajan also clarified that MV Govindan had no role in fielding PK Shyamala as the candidate.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)