NDA did not give a single seat to my party, says PC Thomas on exit from NDA
Mar 17, 2021
Kochi (Kerala) [India], March 17 : Chief of the Kerala Congress, PC Thomas on Wednesday said that his decision to quit National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was because it did not give a single seat to his party for the ensuing Assembly polls.
He said that NDA was adamant in only giving Pala seat to PC Thomas led Kerala Congress and that too on the condition that Thomas himself should contest from the constituency.
Thomas told ANI, "We have been working with NDA as a partner for quite some years. I had the opportunity to fight as an NDA candidate in the parliamentary election of 2004 where we could win against both the other fronts. That was a big victory. Thereafter we have been with the NDA."
"But now, the elections have come, the NDA has denied seats for us. We are not given even a single seat," he further said.
"NDA and the BJP leaders had requested me to contest from Pala. Pala is a constituency in Kerala where a strong contest is going on. There they requested if I contest, we can have a very big contest and that could end up in a victory," he added.
Thomas said, "Though I have no difficulty contesting in elections normally, This year I have some personal problems because of which I couldn't concentrate in the election where full concentration has to be given and I conveyed it to them and asked to relieve me from that particular contest. But they insisted on it but I could not accept that."
"They have denied us other seats which we have been requesting. We never requested Pala. We had requested other 10 seats showing them that we have good candidates, Many of them better than me. They could have won some of the seats. But somehow no seats have been given," he said.
"They denied other seats saying all forces must be put together in Pala without contesting anywhere else but because of my personal problem I cannot contest. We were not even given a chance to put another candidate in Pala and we were not given a seat elsewhere at all. So a party cannot sustain itself without contesting a very serious election which made us leave NDA," he further said.
He said that his party will be in the UDF adding that he will work for the victory of UDF candidates in the Kerala Assembly polls.
He also shared his plan of bringing all factions of Kerala Congress together in his party and said that PJ Joseph will be the chairman of the party.
"Our name is Kerala Congress, the original name of the party out of which many factions came. I want to rejoin all other factions," he said
"We have been successful at least in the case of PJ Joseph. Now he has agreed that we can go together."
"I have requested PJ Joseph to become the Chairman to which he has agreed. I have agreed to become the second person as the Deputy Chairman on his request and we have requested Mons Joseph MLA to become the Vice-Chairman. Joy Abraham will be the secretary-general of the party," he added.
