With Congress’s Abdullakutty, BJP strengthens base in Kerala

Former Congress MLA from Kerala, A P Abdullakutty joined the BJP in the presence of its working president JP Nadda on Wednesday (June 26).

The induction happened in the presence of Union minister of state V Muraleedharan and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Abdullakutty has been part of all the three major parties in Kerala. He had served as CPI(M) MP from Kannur in 1999 and 2004, but was sacked from the party in 2009 for violating party discipline by praising Prime Minister Modi when he was the Gujarat chief minister.

Also read: Sabarimala temple issue led to LS poll debacle: CPI(M)

He later joined the Congress and won the assembly bypolls in 2009 and elections in 2011. Soon after Congress’s debacle in the recently concluded elections, he had praised Modi, saying he had Gandhian values and his victory reflected developmental activities.

Not having been able to make much inroads into southern states, BJP has been gradually building up its base below the Vindhyas. Last week, it had inducted four Rajya Sabha MPs from Andhra Pradesh belonging to Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP.

In Kerala, the party has been on the offensive against the CPI(M)-led Left Front government, and had strongly associated itself with Sabarimala protests against the Supreme Court order that allowed entry of women in the Lord Ayyappa temple.

Although it was not able to win a single seat in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, it made an impact with 12.93% voteshare.