© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Congress party in Kerala Thursday expelled its Youth Congress leader P Sarin after he raised a banner of revolt over denial of ticket in the November 13 by-election to the Palakkad Assembly constituency.
A day after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) named Kerala Youth Congress president Rahul Mamkoottathil as the party candidate for the Palakkad Assembly seat on Tuesday, a disgruntled Sarin, who is also the head of the state Congress social media cell, demanded a review of the decision.
Sarin, 40, said on Thursday that he was ready to contest the Palakkad bypoll with the ruling CPM’s support. “Regarding my next course of action, I have asked them (CPM) whether I have a space. I am awaiting their reply. I will work for the Left in the by-election. If the party (CPM) demands, I am ready to contest,’’ he told media persons in Palakkad.
He also said later, “CPM district secretary Suresh Babu called me. He has told me that the party is interested in fielding me.’’
The CPM, which has not so far announced their candidate for Palakkad, was prompt in its response. CPM central committee member A K Balan, a prominent leader from Palakkad, said: “The CPM will always encourage such persons. The party will soon take a decision on fielding him as the candidate. Let the party district secretariat (which will meet on Friday) take the decision,’’ Balan told the media.
The CPM is likely to back Sarin as an Independent candidate from the Palakkad constituency.
Sarin, a medical graduate, had quit the civil service in 2016 to join the Congress. He has been keen to contest the Palakkad seat on the party’s ticket. However, the Congress picked Mamkoottathil as its candidate from the seat.
Upset over the AICC’s decision, Sarin said on Wednesday, “The party should review the decision on his (Mamkoottathil’s) candidature, otherwise it will face a repeat of Haryana Assembly poll debacle. I have asked the AICC to rectify the party mistake on candidate selection. Party should not succumb to the demands of a few leaders. There is enough time to correct it. If Mamkoottathil gets defeated in the bypoll, it will be Rahul Gandhi who will be getting defeated in Palakkad.”
Sarin went on to say, “Leaders should understand the ground reality in Palakkad. Mamkoottathil is Youth Congress state president. Even after becoming a candidate, he is not ready to vacate that post. Opportunities are meant only for a few people.’’
The Congress resorted to a wait-and-watch approach, with Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan saying on Wednesday that Mamkoottathil’s candidature was a “collective decision and taken after completing all procedures”. “I had spoken to Sarin before his press conference and had requested him not to react. Party will examine what he has stated to the media and take necessary action. The party has full responsibility regarding Mamkoottathil’s candidature,’’ he said.
Going after Satheesan on Thursday, Sarin alleged, “Satheesan has hijacked the party. He has a soft approach towards BJP. He is responsible for the collapse of Congress in Kerala. Mamkoottathil is a little Satheesan.”
Minutes after Sarin’s fresh attack on the Congress and its leaders, state party president K Sudhakaran sacked him from the primary membership of the party.
In 2021, Congress leader Shafi Parambil, now an MP, had retained the seat which he had been representing since 2011. BJP candidate E Sreedharan had lost to Shafi with a margin of 3,850 votes, with the CPM candidate ending up at the third place. With Sarin in the fray, the CPM hopes to split the Congress votes.
The Palakkad bypoll would also be crucial for BJP. This was one of the few seats where the BJP had finished as the runner-up in the 2021 Assembly elections, which saw the CPM-led LDF return to power for a second consecutive term under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The BJP is approaching the Palakkad bypoll with an enhanced confidence that it gained after its candidate Suresh Gopi won from the neighbouring Thrissur parliamentary constituency, which marked the party’s first-ever Lok Sabha win from Kerala. The bypoll will be an opportunity for the BJP to try to reopen its account in the state Assembly, where the party had an MLA from 2016 to 2021.
The LDF also needs to turn the page after suffering a rout in the Lok Sabha polls, when the Congress-led UDF bagged 18 of 20 seats in the state. The Vijayan government has also been grappling with multiple challenges.
Sarin is a native of Ottapalam in Palakkad district. He obtained the MBBS degree from the government medical college in Kozhikode. In 2008, he cleared the UPSC civil service exam with 555th rank in his first attempt. Sarin was allotted the Indian Accounts and Audit Service and was appointed as deputy accountant general in Thiruvananthapuram and later in the same post in Bengaluru. In 2016, he quit the job to join the Congress.
Earlier, in an interview to the media, Sarin had said that he opted for political life as that was, he said, the “best avenue to project one’s views”. His then stated approach was that he viewed politics for public service and career politics was secondary.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, Sarin was Congress candidate in Ottapalam seat, but lost to the CPI(M) candidate. A Youth Congress state secretary, Sarin was made the head of the state Congress digital media cell last year.
