THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: AP Abdullakutty, who joined the BJP last year and is currently the state vice president, has been appointed the party's national vice president.
Abdullakutty and Tom Vadakkan, who was appointed national spokesperson, are the two leaders from Kerala who have made it to the list of BJP's national office bearers which was announced on Saturday.
Abdullakutty, who was a two-term MP of the CPM and later a two-time MLA of Congress, had joined the BJP in June last year. Earlier this year, he was appointed as state vice president.
The leader from Kannur is known in state political circles as ‘albhuthakutty’ (wonder kid) because of his feats of political survival against all odds.
"This is not only a recognition for the party in Kerala but a recognition for the minority communities as well. This is also a reply to detractors who portray the BJP as an anti-Muslim outfit. Bestowing such a huge responsibility on a newcomer like me, by a party recognised as the biggest political outfit in the world, is indeed an honour," Abdullakutty told The New Indian Express.
Abdullakutty's political journey
Abdullakutty, who was the state president of SFI, emerged as a firebrand leader of the CPM from Kannur district. He was expelled from the CPM after he praised Narendra Modi and his development initiatives in Gujarat when he was the Chief Minister of that state.
He joined the Congress and became the party MLA from Kannur assembly constituency for two terms but had to taste defeat during the 2016 assembly election from Thalassery.
Abdullakutty was expelled from the Congress for again praising Narendra Modi as a 'Gandhian'. He joined the BJP, receiving the membership from the party's national working president JP Nadda in June 2019.
Vadakkan gets spokesperson post
Vadakkan had switched to the BJP from the Congress a month before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Once a close aide of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Vadakkan had left the Congress accusing the party of questioning the integrity of the armed forces after the Balakot air strikes. Though a Keralite, Vadakkan has been based in New Delhi for a long time.