Sandeep Varier, a prominent face of the Kerala BJP, openly renounced his past affiliations with the party and its ideologies on November 16, Saturday, after he joined the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. The former BJP spokesperson emphasised that his decision is not influenced by discussions with the CPI(M) or the Congress party. Instead, he attributed his shift to a change in conviction, specifically pointing to Rahul Gandhi as a source of hope for the people. In a candid admission, Sandeep said that he felt shame for supporting a “factory that generates only hatred.” He contrasted this with the Congress, which he now calls the “shop of love,” a phrase coined by Rahul Gandhi during his “Bharat Jodo Yatra.” This change, he said, aligns him with a future he believes is free from animosity.
"I have decided to join the shop of love. I am ashamed to have spent all these years working in a factory that generates only hatred. I reject all ideologies that I followed till now. All my stands until now were wrong. I cannot go back to a hatred-filled ideology. People have hope that they are not living in an autocracy. The person who gave that hope is Rahul Gandhi," Sandeep Varier noted, distancing himself from Prime Minister Narendra Modi by clarifying that he has never been a “Modi fan, just a BJP worker.”
Explaining one of his core grievances with the BJP, Sandeep stated that he had been opposing what he termed the party’s "adjustment politics" with Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Now, he has expressed pride in being “a humble worker” of the Congress and has declared himself a “soldier of Rahul Gandhi,” marking a complete ideological turnaround.
Sandeep, who was a State Committee member of the BJP had publicly voiced his frustrations with the party in the recent months, citing feelings of neglect by the party. Earlier, he had expressed dismay over the party's response during personal hardships, notably when the BJP leaders failed to offer support following his mother’s death.
His political switch comes as a setback to the BJP, particularly amid the crucial Palakkad bye-election campaign.