A major controversy has erupted within the BJP’s Palakkad district unit in Kerala over the selection of Prashanth Sivan as the party’s Palakkad district president.

Nine councilors in Palakkad municipal council, including the municipal chairperson, vice-chairperson and a national council member have informed that they would resign if Prasanth Sivan is made the district president.

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The councilors are expected to submit their resignation letters to the state BJP leadership on Monday. Dissident councilors, who attended a pt meeting, announced their intention to proceed with the resignations.

They allege that the election for the district president violated established guidelines. The main accusation is that the president was unilaterally selected, sidelining those who had secured more votes in the election. Senior BJP leader C Krishnakumar from Palakkad is accused of pushing his proxy candidate into the position.

The councilors allege that Prasanth Sivan is being made the district president in violation of all the norms of the BJP However, Prasanth Sivan is only 35 years old.

The age limit for the district president should be between 45 and 60 years and the person elected should have been a member of the BJP for at least six years, they said.

Refuting the allegations, present district president KM Haridas claimed that no rules were violated in the selection process. He added that if anyone is dissatisfied, the issue will be addressed, although no one has formally expressed discontent so far.

If senior leaders are frustrated by being overlooked and decide to resign, it could lead to BJP losing power in Palakkad municipal council.

BJP state president K Surendran said that the district president list was accepted by the central leadership of the party and that no one can speak against this.

Meanwhile, the Congress has begun efforts to attract the rebel BJP councilors to their side. Reports suggest that discussions are being facilitated through Sandeep Varier, a former BJP leader who joined the Congress.

The State Congress leaders have also reportedly reached out to the rebel councilors. If the councilors proceed with their resignations, the BJP stands to lose control of the municipality.

Murmurs of discontent has been growing within the BJP in Palakkad after its defeat in Palakkad Assembly constituency bypoll with a section of leaders attributing the loss to the bad choice of candidate.