Kerala elections: Protest against CPM leadership in Ponnani over move to field P Nandakumar

Meanwhile, the CPM district leadership said the protesters are not leaders or members of the party
Representational image (File Photo | PTI)
Representational image (File Photo | PTI)

MALAPPURAM: Hundreds of people including women took out a protest march at Ponnani in Malappuram on Monday evening opposing the move of the CPM state committee to field CITU National Secretary P Nandakumar in the constituency for the upcoming Assembly elections. The protesters said the party had taken a wrong decision by considering Nandakumar for the constituency, adding that CPM district secretariat member T M Siddique would be the apt candidate.

"Nandakumar has not been active in the constituency for the past 20 years. On the other hand, Siddique has the support of most of the people in the area. So, we want the party to take a wise decision by stepping back from the move to field Nandakumar in the constituency," said Mohamed Rafeek Pottadi, former DYFI Ponnani block vice president, who took part in the protest.

The protesters took out a march from Chandhapadi to Ponnani junction in the evening with a banner with the slogan 'Party correct the leaders and people correct the party' on it. The protesters also said they wanted the candidate from Ponnani to be a member of the next state assembly. "The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is likely to form a government after the election. The people in Ponnani should not miss out on their candidate being in the next assembly because of a wrong decision taken by the party," Pottadi said.

Meanwhile, the CPM district leadership said the protesters are not leaders or members of the party. "The party will study the reason for the protest and find out the details of the organisers of the protest. The protesters are not leaders or members of the party," said E N Mohandas, CPM Malappuram district secretary.

He also said the party is yet to announce its candidate for the constituency. "The party district committee discussed the possible candidate for the constituency with the state committee. The state committee and Polit Bureau should take a final decision on the candidate. Before the leadership declaring the candidate, no one will know anything about the CPM candidate for a constituency," Mohandas added.

However, the protesters also came out against the statement of the CPM district leadership that they are not members of the party. "The party wins the elections with the votes of the local people who may not be members or leaders of the party. So, the statement from the party that the protesters are not the party members makes no sense," said a protester.

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