P.C. Chacko suspends party vice president

Factional fight within the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led in Kerala by P.C. Chacko came to a head with Mr. Chacko suspending State vice president P.K. Rajan from the party.

A communication in this regard said that the suspension was for engineering factional activities in Thrissur which gave the impression that the party was marred by factional feuds. Mr. Chacko said those who defied party line and discipline would face strict action.

Reports have been doing the rounds for some time now that Mr. Chacko was eager to replace A.K. Saseendran with Thomas K. Thomas, Kuttanad, MLA, in the State Cabinet. The suspension of Mr. Rajan, a supporter of Mr. Saseendran, is being seen as a move to put Mr. Saseendran under pressure.