Ex-leader's return a relief to Congress in Kerala amid desertion

In what could be considered as a tit for tat move in Kerala politics, a former Congress local leader who quit the party two decades back returned to the Congress from the left-front on Friday close to the heels of several Congress local leaders leaving the party and joining the CPM.

Cheriyan Philip formally announced his return to Congress after a meeting with senior AICC leader A K Antony at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram.

Philip, who was once considered as a loyalist of Antony as well as former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, left the Congress in 2001 after he was denied a seat for contesting the Assembly polls. Now his return to Congress is also due to displeasure over the left-front denying seats in the elections.

Addressing the media after announcing his return to Congress, Philip said that the CPM did not allow him to grow and hence he decided to return to Congress. When pointed out reports that more from Congress were planning to join the CPM, he said that let them go and suffer.

Cheriyan later made serious allegations against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's office. He said that many members in the Chief Minister's personal staff, including those who faced probe in connection with nexus with gold smuggling racket, were misleading Vijayan and were posing themselves as super CMs.

It was following the announcement of district Congress committee presidents last month that the Congress in Kerala witnessed at least five local leaders quitting the party and joining the CPM. The new leadership of Congress in the state, Kerala PCC president and Lok Sabha MP K Sudhakaran and opposition leader V D Satheesan, even came under criticism from within the party for not initiating any steps to address the concerns of the disgruntled leaders. Hence the return of Philip to Congress camps from the left-front could be a relief for the Congress leadership.

Philip, who did not take the CPM membership, was given posts of Kerala Tourism Development Corporation chairman and coordinator of various missions by the left-front governments. But Philip's request for seats in the election was declined by the left-front.

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