The political turmoil in the Mattathur grama panchayat showed no signs of abating, with rebel Congress members stepping forward to counter the party leadership’s claims, even as the District Congress Committee (DCC) announced suspensions.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, panchayat president Tessy Thomas and expelled former DCC general secretary T.M. Chandran categorically denied allegations that Congress members had defected to the BJP. They described as ‘blatantly false’ the DCC president’s claim that a party whip had been issued for the president election or that Congress members had formally joined the BJP. Mandalam president Shafi Kalluparambil and other ward members were also present at the press meet.
Mr. Chandran said the members had taken a clear and conscious political stand on the change in leadership. He alleged that the developments in the president election were the fallout of a ‘conspiracy’ by the CPI(M) to cover up corruption in previous ruling committees by allegedly ‘buying off’ Congress member K.P. Ouseph.
50% chance
According to Mr. Chandran, 24 candidates contested under the UDF banner, and with the Congress and LDF having equal strength of 10 members each, the presidency would have been decided by draw, giving either Mr. Ouseph or a CPI(M) nominee a 50% chance. “To eliminate that uncertainty, the CPI(M) bought off Mr. Ouseph,” he alleged.
Mr. Chandran further said that when the president election began, Mr. Ouseph’s name was proposed by CPI(M) members, prompting Congress members to put forward Tessy Thomas, an Independent candidate. He claimed BJP members may have voted for the Congress candidate due to their hostility towards the CPI(M). “Ms. Thomas secured 12 votes while Mr. Ouseph got 11,” he said.
The members also said no one had sought explanations from them and that they had not received any formal communication regarding expulsion from primary party membership. They insisted they would never join the BJP and said the leadership of the party and the KPCC should intervene to resolve the crisis in Mattathur. They maintained that supporting an Independent president was based on local political realities and public sentiment, and that they had not adopted any anti-party stance.
Suspension
Meanwhile, a DCC press release announced the suspension of Mr. Chandran, Mr. Kalluparambil and 10 ward members for violating party guidelines and engineering ‘alleged’ mass defection in Mattathur to align with the BJP. The party also suspended Nidheesh A.M. and Sabetta Varghese for violating party directions by contesting the president and vice-president posts in Chovannur grama panchayat.
Published – December 28, 2025 07:30 pm IST
