AP Abdullakkutty with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Two-time Congress MLA and the party’s Muslim face in Northern Kerala, AP Abdullakutty has formally joined BJP yesterday after being expelled from the Congress for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Abdullakutty started his political career as an SFI leader, was ousted from CPM in 2009 for hailing Narendra Modi’s Gujarat model development. Later, he joined the Congress and served two consecutive terms as MLA. Known as ‘Atbhudakutty’ (Wonder Kid) for creating wonders in electoral politics, Abdullakutty emerged as a giant killer in the Kerala politics after defeating six-time Congress MP Mullappally Ramachandran from the Kannur Lok Sabha seat on CPM ticket at the age of 31 in the 1999 general elections. He retained the parliament seat in 2004 and subsequently winning the Kannur Assembly seat for the Congress in 2009 and 2011.
Abdullakutty received the party membership from the BJP’s working president J.P. Nadda at the party’s parliamentary office in Delhi in the presence of top BJP leaders from the south, Union Minister V. Muraleedharan and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
After joining the party, Abdullakutty told reporters that he has become a “national Muslim” now. “I am a national Muslim now, and when I say that, I mean it because all Muslims who have faith in their religion are nationalists,” he explained. He said the fear among the minority community towards the BJP was the result of baseless campaigns but they are safe in the hands of the BJP. He added that he would work towards bridging the gap between the BJP and minorities in Kerala.
Ahead of joining the BJP, he had called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the party president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP general secretary Ram Madhav.
Speaking to India Today about the minorities in Kerala, Abdullakutty said, “They (Muslims) are sensible and have already realised the changing scenario in national politics. They have been betting blindly on Congress, Indian Union Muslim League and CPIM and receiving a raw deal. These political parties had treated them as vote bank and failed to deliver. But Prime Minister Modi is sincere in his approach while delivering the best for the country. He has used development to link people together. I’ve won elections for CPIM and Congress. I can effectively communicate to people. I can convince them.”
A few weeks ago, in a Facebook post, Abdullakutty had said Prime Minister Modi got a spectacular victory for the second time because he inculcated Gandhian values in governance. Following his statement, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee had issued a show cause notice to Abdullakkutty on June 1, seeking an explanation for his controversial Facebook post that has put the party in a fix amid humiliating defeat in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections.
