Congress Leader Quits Party Over Leadership' Unprincipled Political Conduct; Announces Switch to CPI(M)

Thiruvananthapuram: Stanley Hedger, a Congress leader from Kovalam constituency and Kanjirampuzha Block functionary, has resigned from the party in protest against what he described as the unprincipled political conduct of the leadership, directly citing the ongoing scramble for the Chief Minister's post as the reason for his departure.

In a Facebook post, Hedger announced that he, his family, and his colleagues would henceforth work alongside the CPI(M). He said that senior leaders fighting among themselves for the Chief Minister's post while ignoring people's issues was something party workers could no longer accept, and described the leaders' behaviour as "political buffoonery."

"Leaders are fighting each other for the Chief Minister's seat, forgetting the real concerns of the people. Workers cannot accept this kind of conduct. From now on, my family, colleagues, and I will work with the CPI(M)," he wrote.

The resignation adds to the growing list of public expressions of discontent within the Congress over the pre-result power struggle, and marks one of the more pointed individual protests from within the party's grassroots over what workers describe as a leadership absorbed entirely in factional ambition at the expense of the party's credibility.