Kerala Congress Expels Digital Media Chief Dr. P Sarin Over Support for LDF
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee on Thursday expelled its Digital Media Cell Chief, Dr. P Sarin, following his open dissent against the party's decision to nominate State Youth Congress President Rahul Mamkootathil for the Palakkad assembly by-election.
Sarin, who had also sought the ticket, publicly declared his intention to support the ruling CPM-led LDF in the upcoming elections. This led to swift action by the KPCC, resulting in his expulsion for anti-party activities.
The rebel Congress leader has conveyed to the CPM leadership his willingness to contest the polls as LDF candidate. The CPM leadership will take a call on fielding Sarin on Friday.
At a press conference, Sarin levelled accusations against opposition leader V.D. Satheeshan, claiming he has eroded the party's organizational structure. He alleged that for the last three years, Satheeshan has been detrimental to the democratic processes and the internal robustness of the Congress party in the state. Unlike leaders such as K. Karunakaran, Oommen Chandy, and Ramesh Chennithala, who adeptly handled the party's organizational matters, Satheeshan has been dictatorial in his approach.
Sarin warned that if the party continues on this trajectory, it is likely to face defeat in the 2026 assembly elections. He also likened Palakkad candidate Rahul Mamkoothathil to a lesser version of Satheeshan.
The CPM seems to be relying on Sarin to enhance its chances in the Palakkad constituency. The last time the CPM emerged victorious in Palakkad was in 2006. Following that, Shafi Parambil of the Congress won the seat in three consecutive elections before resigning to run for the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency in April, where he achieved an impressive win against the CPM's veteran and former health minister, K K Shailaja.
In the last two elections, the CPM fell to third place behind the BJP. Eager to reclaim its position, the CPM is considering all strategies, including backing Congress dissident Sarin. The Congress leadership, prioritising electability, selected Rahul Mamkootathil. Sarin, who ran for the Ottapalam assembly seat in the 2021 elections, was defeated by the CPM with a margin of over 15,000 votes.
The Congress thinks that under the current circumstances, Rahul is the most suitable candidate for retaining Palakkad. Meanwhile, the CPM is set to announce its candidate on Friday.