Bipin C. Babu, CPI-M leader from Alappuzha, joins Kerala BJP

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 30 (IANS) Bipin C. Babu, a senior CPI-M leader from Kerala’s Alappuzha district, joined the BJP on Saturday, hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s good work and hitting out at the Left for losing its secular outlook.

The exit of Babu, a member of the Alappuzha district panchayat, comes at a time when the outfit in the district has been hit by alleged factionalism, resulting in frequent outbursts of party members.

Addressing media after joining the BJP, Babu said he decided to leave the CPI-M as it had lost its secular outlook and was being run by one group.

“I am happy to join the BJP especially seeing the work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said, predicting an exodus from the CPI-M over the next few months.

“Just see the development of national highways and the railways in Kerala,” said Babu, adding that he will soon resign as a member of the district panchayat that he won on a CPI-M ticket.

Hitting out at the alleged factionalism in CPI-M, he said, “The CPI-M was routed at the Lok Sabha polls and it suffered very badly in the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency. The CPI-M doesn’t have much of a future.”

“Senior CPI-M leaders, like two-time former state minister G. Sudhakaran, have been sidelined by the group which runs the affairs of the party in Alappuzha,” he said.

Babu, a former youth wing leader of the CPI-M, claimed soon after the party’s state conference gets over in a few months, there will be an exodus of party members.

Welcoming Babu, Kerala BJP president K. Surendran claimed that many CPI-M workers are getting ready to leave the party.

The state BJP got a rude jolt when just before the November 20 Palakkad Assembly bye-election, its popular youth face Sandeep Warrier joined the Congress. State Youth Congress president Rahul Mamkootathil won the bye-election by a margin of over 18,000 votes.

The BJP candidate C. Krishnakumar came second and CPI-M-backed Dr P. Sarin finished third.

--IANS

sg/rch