CPI(M) leader Bipin C Babu joins BJP in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Amidst reports of factional feud in the ongoing CPI(M) conferences ahead of its state convention, party leader Bipin C Babu quit the Left outfit and joined the BJP on Saturday.

Bipin C Babu, member of CPI(M) Alappuzha area committee and member of district panchayat representing Krishnapuram division, joined the saffron party after receiving membership from national general secretary Tarun Chugh in the presence of its top state leaders during a leadership meeting of the outfit here.

He had served as vice-president of Alappuzha district panchayat, president of Muthukulam block panchayat, DYFI and SFI Alappuzha district president.

Bipin, who responded to media after accepting BJP membership, alleged that CPI(M) has lost its secular character.

"A few communal forces are leading the party now and it has become an outfit of a particular section," he said.

He added that the developmental initiatives under PM Narendra Modi regime attracted him to the BJP.

The sidelining of senior leader G Sudhakaran has drawn criticism within the party and the local and area conferences in some places such as in Karunagappilly in Kollam district witnessed open protests, according to CPI(M) sources.

"The situation of senior leader G Sudhakaran, who is one of the country's foremost social activists and one of the best ministers who have served the state for many years, is very pitiable," Bipin said.

This is also one of the reasons behind his decision to leave the CPI(M), he added.

However, he stated that he joined the BJP not for any positions and that he will soon resign from the district panchayat.

BJP state president K Surendran claimed that the internal conflict within the CPI(M) in Alappuzha has now reached a crescendo.

"The saffron party has made significant inroads into CPI(M) strongholds in Vayalar and Punnapra during the Lok Sabha elections, delivering a major blow to the party," he added.

Surendran further alleged that the presence of mafia elements and a faction of the PFI within the CPI(M) is causing the party's downfall.

"Senior leaders like G Sudhakaran are speaking out against this, posing a significant challenge to the CPI(M)," he said, adding that more people will join the BJP.

Commenting on the defection of former party spokesperson Sandeep Varier to the Congress, Surendran said, "When some waste goes out, pure water flows into the BJP."