Kozhikode: Actor Dharmajan Bolgatty has lodged a complaint saying a KPCC secretary and a UDF constitution-level committee office-bearer had collected lakhs of rupees using his name and worked for his defeat in the Balussery Assembly constituency.
In his complaint to Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president, Dharmajan also said the money was not spent on the campaign. The actor, who had contested as a Congress candidate, lost to KM Sachin Dev of the CPM by over 20,000 votes.
The constitution-level (mandalam) committee office-bearer had opposed Dharmajan’s candidature much before the official announcement, the complaint said. He had complained against the actor’s candidature to the UDF leaders, and to the media.
Dharmajan said his defeat began when this leader was made the convener of his election committee.
The actor said in his complaint that the leader made moves against him with the tacit support of a KPCC secretary. Both wanted another person to contest from Balussery.
The actor further alleged that the election committee had not convened even a single meeting since its formation. The leaders also led a campaign against the actor, saying he won’t win votes since he belonged to the Pulaya community.
Dharmajan said the KPCC secretary had been in charge of the constituency in the previous elections. Even as they discouraged Dharmajan from contesting, they continued collecting money, which was not spent on the campaign. “I have evidence to prove this,” the actor said.
He alleged conspiracy behind the sending back of two AICC representatives, who were to lead the booth-level campaign. There were not offered accommodation or vehicle. Balussery was excluded from the national leaders’ campaign itinerary.
Dharmajan said a meeting of Shashi Tharoor had to be cancelled. Leaders attended roadshows in several other constituencies. An MP remained inactive in the campaign after saying Balussery was a payment seat.
About 25 per cent of the booth-level committees were inactive compared to other constituencies, he alleged.
He said the only activity that the mandalam committee took up was to distribute the funds from AICC. The campaign was low-key and without leaders. The leaders even skipped the party family meetings.
To substantiate his allegations, Dharmajan pointed at the LDF’s lead at Unnikulam and Atholi panchayats, where the Congress had an upper hand. The UDF could gain only in Koorachundu panchayat, he said.
The actor said he was never overconfident of winning Balussery, LDF’s sitting seat. But there was a slimmer of hope that he, as an artiste, could make inroads in the reserved constituency and win in the last round.
Dharmajan said the pro-LDF wave in the State was not the reason for the party’s defeat in Balussery. Besides organizational weakness, the stand adopted by the two leaders too contributed to the debacle.
He, meanwhile, appreciated the sincere campaign work by ordinary Congress and League workers. Dharmajan claimed that he had alerted senior leaders of the collection of funds, and requested the KPCC to probe the issue and initiate action against the two leaders.
