Trouble has broken out in the Kerala film actors lobby AMMA, with national award-winning actor Salim Kumar quitting in protest against film star Mohanlal ‘campaigning’ for Left opposition candidate K B Ganesh Kumar in the Pathanapuram assembly constituency, Kollam.
Addressing reporters at his residence yesterday, Salim Kumar said there has been an unwritten rule in AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes) that if any of its members contested in the state elections, no AMMA member would campaign for him.
“Mohanlal is an office bearer (AMMA vice-president) and the rule was broken by him when he campaigned for Ganesh Kumar. There are two other candidates -- Jagdish from Congress and Bheemen Reghu of BJP -- who are also contesting from the same constituency,” said Salim Kumar.
“I am a Congress supporter and I could have campaigned for Jagdish, but I did not because of the unwritten understanding. Since an office bearer himself has flouted the rule, I am quitting as AMMA member. If anyone wants to campaign for a particular person then he should first quit AMMA,” said Salim Kumar adding that he has sent his resignation to film star Mammootty, who is AMMA general secretary.
Mohanlal had addressed a gathering in Pathanapuram where he said Ganesh Kumar was a close friend and hence he had come to visit him.
Though there has been no official word from other AMMA office-bearers, president Innocent, who is a Lok Sabha member from Chalakudy, Thrissur, and won as a Left-supported candidate, played down the controversy and said Mohanlal’s presence at the campaign was “just a personal visit”.
However, Congress candidate Jagdish - ace comedian and character artiste - said it was believed that Mohanlal, after meeting Ganesh Kumar had gone to the residence of State Minister of Cinema, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who is contesting from the Kottayam constituency.
“We know each other for several decades and the feeling here is since he came to meet Ganesh Kumar, he should have called on both of us (Reghu and myself) too,” Jagdish added.
While Ganesh Kumar is part of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and is looking for a fourth consecutive win, running against him are Jagdish and police officer-turned-actor Reghu. Ganesh Kumar is the youngest of the three and will turn 50 shortly, while Jagdish and Reghu are in their early 60s.
Ganesh Kumar represents the Kerala Congress (Pillai), the party floated by his father and former minister R Balakrishna Pillai, which has been part of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) for years.
Last year, owing to differences, Kumar quit the UDF and joined the LDF that is led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
The contest Ganesh Kumar and Jagdish is expected to be a close one.