Kerala: Congress expels former MLA for praising PM Modi

“This victory is a reward for the governance strategies and the development agenda of the Modi government. An interesting factor that makes him so popular is that he inculcated Gandhian values in his governance,” Abdullakutty had wrote in a Facebook post.

Within hours of the statement, Congress leaders in Kerala criticised the leader and asked him for an explanation. An editorial in the Congress mouthpiece ‘Veekshanam’ slammed Abdullakutty calling him a ‘migratory bird with a hunger for power’. The editorial also called for his expulsion from the party.

Though he stuck to his stand in his explanation for the Facebook post, party bosses were not amused. His expulsion marks a long period of differences between Abdullakutty and the Kannur leadership of the party.

There are also rumours that the former Congress MLA may join the BJP and contest the upcoming bypoll in Manjeswaram constituency in Kasaragod district.

After news of his expulsion, he told reporters, “The Congress will regret this move. I have never been hungry for power. My stand is rooted in development.”

Before his entry into the Congress in 2009, Abdullakutty was a member of the CPM and represented the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency twice between 1999-2009. He was expelled from the CPM in 2009 for praising the Gujarat model of development. After he joined Congress, he contested the Assembly elections in 2011 from Kannur and won. In the 2016 elections, he, however, lost out to the CPM candidate in the Thalassery constituency. Since the loss, Abdullakutty has not been on good terms with the party’s local leadership.