Ex-Congress leader's bid to reclaim office results in clash at Kottayi

As tensions escalated, police intervened, dispersing both factions and sealing the office

- SHYAM P V @ Kottayi

WHAT BEGAN as a routine shift in political allegiance exploded into high-voltage drama in Kottayi, Palakkad, on Monday, as a former Congress leader's attempt to repaint a party office led to tense clashes between his supporters and Congressmen.

The controversy erupted when K Mohan Kumar, the Kottayi mandalam (unit) president of the Congress, who defected from the party to join the CPM along with his supporters on Monday morning, attempted to repaint the local Congress' Mandalam Committee office at Kottayi in red - symbolising his new party affiliation.