Kannur: Ending his five-decade-long association with the Congress, party veteran C Raghunath has joined the BJP. The former Kannur DCC general secretary contested against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as a UDF candidate from the Dharmadom constituency in the last Assembly elections.

Earlier this month, Raghunath announced his decision to leave the party on Facebook. He expressed his disillusionment with the party and stated that the genetic makeup of the present Congress was notably different from the old Indian National Congress.

A close aide of KPCC president K Sudhakaran, Raghunath had stepped back from all events of the Congress for the past several months. He clarified that he will continue to be active in Kannur's district politics.