Following the CPM state secretariat meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, the party reportedly turned down its ‘friend’ P C George—the Kerala Congress (Secular) leader—who has nowhere else to seek refuge.
The party cannot overlook the brewing internal protest over fielding George in Poonjar, Kottayam. Several posters that carried matter that condemned CPM’s move to field P C George and the Congress leader George J Mathew were seen in the town. P C George had met with the CPM top brass earlier this month to seek the party’s support for his traditional seat in Poonjar.
The posters also read that both leaders are opportunists. George was disqualified as an MLA last year after he moved out of UDF’s ally Kerala Congress (Mani). But the Kerala high court overruled his disqualification earlier last month. He was also disqualified as a legislator by the speaker of the state assembly in November, 2015, under the anti-defection law based on a petition filed by KC (M).
George had made it to the headlines after he openly challenged KC (M) supremo K M Mani to prove his innocence over the bar scam allegations. Therefore, George was removed from the post of UDF’s chief whip in the assembly in April, 2015, and has since been at loggerheads with Mani and the chief minister Oommen Chandy.
