THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Changing the complexion of the battle for Piravom and giving a serious jolt to the CPM state leadership, R Selvaraj MLA, representing the Neyyattinkara Assembly constituency, has resigned citing factional feuds in the party. He reached Speaker G Karthikeyan’s official residence at 8.45 am on Friday and handed over the resignation. The Speaker accepted the resignation.While the UDF hopes the resignation will demoralise the LDF rank and file and impact the Piravom voting, the LDF has condemned it as horse-trading under the leadership of Oommen Chandy. In a quick reaction, the CPM district secretariat expelled Selvaraj from the party. Along with him, Balakrishna Pillai, a member of the Perunkadavila block panchayat and former area committee member of the party, was also expelled from the party.Addressing a news conference at Neyyattinkara, Selvaraj said he was forced to resign as he was being victimised for the defeat of the party candidate at Parassala constituency. “As the situation has reached such a stage where it is impossible to continue working upholding the communist traditions and values, and respecting the wishes of the party workers and well-wishers, I am quitting as MLA,’’ he said.Stating that it was to ensure his defeat and isolate him in the party that he was asked to contest from Neyyattinkara constituency against his wishes, he said he could manage to win from there with the help of party workers and general public. But the district leadership and the state leadership of the party were rather interested in victimising him for the party candidate’s defeat at Parassala, he said.In a statement issued at the news conference, Selvaraj said he was being selectively insulted and victimised for his fight against the district leadership which was under the grip of mafia gangs and affluent classes. “I was denied a party ticket to contest the election at Parassala for my fight against the district leadership. They had an agenda to defeat and isolate me. But the leadership could not achieve this as the people had confidence in me,’’ he said.He alleged that the district leadership of the party, as part of a long chalked-out plan being implemented after the Malappuram state conference came under the control of power brokers and mafia gangs. He said the district leadership had the support and blessings of the state leadership.Several party workers had either quit the party or got sidelined following victimisation, Selvaraj said and claimed that he would continue to fight against the UDF and stick to leftist values.
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