Kerala Assembly Elections 2021: Former Congress leader PC Chacko joins NCP in presence of Sharad Pawar

Ahead of the Assembly Election in Kerala, former Congress leader PC Chacko, who quit the party last week, on Tuesday (March 16) joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the presence of party chief Sharad Pawar.

He had announced, earlier on Tuesday, that he would formally join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) headed by Sharad Pawar. "I am formally joining the NCP today", he told reporters in New Delhi after meeting CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Addressing a press conference, Chacko had said that there's no party as such in Kerala but a coordination committee of two parties.

"I have quit Congress and sent my resignation to party's interim chief Sonia Gandhi. I had been deliberating upon this decision for the past many days. I come from Kerala where there's no Congress party as such. There are 2 parties - Congress (I) and Congress (A). It's a coordination committee of 2 parties functioning as KPCC," Chacko had said.

"Kerala is facing a crucial election. People want Congress to come back but there's groupism practiced by top leaders of Congress. I have been arguing with a high command that this should be ended. But the high command is also agreeing to the proposal given by both groups," he said.

Chacko was a former Member of Parliament from Thrissur Lok Sabha seat in Kerala.