Congress leader defects to BJP in Thiruvananthapuram

March 20, 2024 07:51 pm | Updated 07:56 pm IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Congress received yet another jolt in the capital with one more prominent district leader defecting to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday. K. Maheswaran Nair, former Leader of the Opposition in the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation and a four-time councillor from the Poojappura ward, joined the BJP in the presence of Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the party’s candidate for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.

Mr. Nair’s shift comes close on the heels of another prominent local leader Thampanoor Satheesh shifting to the BJP last week. The defection of grassroots-level leaders with considerable local connect comes as a challenge for the party as the campaigning for the Lok Sabha election picks up.

Speaking to The Hindu after the defection, Mr. Nair said he had not made any demands to the BJP ahead of the defection. “The BJP approached me a few days ago. Initially, I was not interested, but discussions with the leaders on the future development of the city made me take this decision. The current leadership of the Congress does not inspire much confidence. Many people covet the Chief Minister’s post and hence the party has as many groups too. There is a fall in the number of active workers at the grassroots too,” he said.