Palakkad Bypolls: EP Jayarajan To Campaign For LDF's Sarin Amidst Autobiography Controversy

VD Satheesan said that Jayarajan's arrival in Palakkad to campaign for Sarin would not change what the CPI(M) leader has said about the LDF candidate in his book.

Former LDF convener E P Jayarajan on Thursday arrived here to campaign for P Sarin, LDF's independent candidate in the Palakkad bypoll, in the wake of news reports that his candidacy was criticised by the CPI(M) veteran in his purported autobiography. After reaching Palakkad, Jayarajan, at a press conference, accused the Congress of playing "dirty politics" by "conspiring to create the controversy to harm the chances of the LDF" in the Palakkad and Chelakkara assembly by-elections, where the Left has a good chance of winning.

While Jayarajan and Sarin, the former digital media convener of the Congress, said that his arrival had nothing to do with the controversial book, the opposition UDF contended that the Left veteran was directed to join the Palakkad bypoll campaign due to the contents of his purported autobiography.

"Otherwise, why did he (Jayarajan) not campaign for Sarin till now?" Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan asked while speaking to a TV channel here.

He said that Jayarajan's arrival in Palakkad to campaign for Sarin would not change what the CPI(M) leader has said about the LDF candidate in his book.

Refuting the opposition allegations, Jayarajan said that he was still writing his autobiography and has not authorised anyone to publish it.

However, he will be speeding up its publication in the prevailing circumstances, the Left veteran said.

He also said none of the things mentioned in the purported book, as per news reports, were there in his autobiography.

Jayarajan also lavished praise on Sarin by saying that he was a medical professional who gave up a high paying job to work for the masses as he was someone with a Leftist mindset even though he was part of the Congress.

The CPI(M) veteran said that Sarin left Congress as he could no longer accept the grand old party's alleged actions of siding with communal forces, corrupt practices and lack of concern for the development of the state and the country.

Sarin was removed from the Congress following his public expression of discontent over the party's decision to select Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil as the UDF candidate in the Palakkad assembly bypoll.

The LDF candidate in the Palakkad bypoll too hit back at the Congress by calling it "desperate".

He said that though Congress brought Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to Wayanad as its best candidate and sought votes for her, it only resulted in the voter turnout falling by 10 per cent.

"Congress is disconnected from the people," he claimed.

Sarin further alleged that the Congress, specifically Satheesan, was behind the book controversy.

Regarding Jayarajan's arrival in Palakkad to campaign for him, Sarin said it was not a last minute decision as the veteran CPI(M) leader was scheduled to reach there on November 15-16.

"He just came a day early. That is all," he contended.

Earlier in the day, Satheesan said that Jayarajan has termed Sarin as "opportunist" in the book which was "a reality" that everyone knows.

"It was not added there by the publisher. Everyone with common sense knows it was written by Jayarajan. It is unfortunate for him that he has to come here and campaign for such a person. But, that is politics," he said.

Satheesan further said that when someone who had gone in search of a BJP ticket to contest in the bypoll was made an independent candidate of the CPI(M), there was serious discontent within the Left party.

"This discontent was expressed by one of the senior-most leaders of the party," he said.

He also alleged that pressure was exerted on the publisher from the Chief Minister's Office to delay release of the book till after November 20, when the Palakkad assembly seat bypoll is scheduled to be held.

Jayarajan had on Wednesday clarified that he had neither decided on the title of his autobiography nor finalised its cover page.

The CPI(M) veteran alleged that "some crooked minds have conspired together" and published the news reports, forging certain pages of his autobiography with content that he had neither intended nor written.

He was responding to news reports which had said that the book, titled "Kattan Chayayum Parippuvadayum: The Life of a Communist" was being published by a well-known publisher, who had released its cover page on its social media handle on Tuesday.

He has also termed the book a "forgery" and lodged a police complaint against the "perpetrators".

He has also issued a legal notice to the publisher.

A central committee member of the party, Jayarajan, was removed as LDF convener recently. The action followed revelations about his meeting with BJP Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)