In a jolt to the ruling Congress-led UDF in Kerala ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls, a senior leader of its partner Kerala Congress(M) today quit the party and joined a rebel group, accusing party chief K M Mani of functioning "unilaterally".
Vakkachan Mattathil, a former Rajya Sabha MP, accused Mani group of adopting a "step-motherly attitude" towards leaders and workers associated with Water Resources Minister P J Joseph, ever since his faction merged with Kerala Congress Mani group ahead of 2011 Assembly elections.
A group of leaders have also resigned from Kerala Congress(M) along with Vakkachan and said they would support Francis George-led group.
The development comes two days after the Francis George-led faction decided to leave the party, alleging that Mani was functioning in an "unilateral manner".
They alleged that "dynastic rule" was prevailing in the KC(M) with Mani trying to make his son and MP Jose K Mani as the leader of the party.
Vakkachan said it is difficult for any Kerala Congress worker with self-respect to continue in the party.
All these leaders were part of Kerala Congress (Joseph) led by Joseph before it merged with KC(M) ahead of Assembly elections in 2011.
Joseph, however, said he would remain with KC(M) and UDF and rejected the charge that Mani was planning a tie-up with BJP.
Earlier in the day, Francis George, son of Kerala Congress founder leader K M George, said his aim was to revive the Kerala Congress in its purest form.
"The party was founded with certain aims and objectives. We will stick to the principles envisaged by the party's founding fathers," he said here.
Francis George said P J Joseph, with whom he has worked for more than three decades, would not be able to continue in Kerala Congress (M).
Francis George group, which has leaders like former MLAs Antony Raju and K C Joseph, have alleged that there was no inner party democracy or discussions in the party over several issues faced by people.
Francis George reiterated his group's charge that Mani, who resigned as Finance Minister over the bar bribery scam, was trying to take the party into the BJP and Sangh Parivar fold.
"It is a total deviation from party's ideology for which it was formed," he said.
He said the future course of action of his group would be decided at a meeting to be held on March 9.
