Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) Devikulam MLA A Raja, on Wednesday, March 29, filed an appeal petition in the Supreme Court challenging his disqualification by the Kerala High Court. Last week, the High Court ordered his disqualification in response to an election petition by Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate D Kumar stating that Raja does not belong to the Scheduled Caste community for which the Devikulam seat is reserved.
Kumar began his legal battle when Raja filed his nomination to the 2021 Assembly polls. And he pursued his fight soon after he lost to Raja by 7,848 votes. The UDF candidate had alleged that Raja was from a converted Christian community and had submitted fake certificates to make himself eligible to contest the seat.
Consequent to the verdict, Raja cannot take part in the ongoing Assembly session. The strength of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) is now down to 98 seats in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly. Even though the High Court disqualified Raja, it allowed him to file the appeal petition in the apex court within 10 days.