Ex Kerala Congress Leader Johnny Nellor Floats Political Party

Former MLA Johnny Nelloor, who had recently resigned from the Kerala Congress party, on Saturday announced a new political outfit - National Progressive Party (NPP).

While former member of the National Minorities Commission V V Augustine is the Chairman, Nellor will function as the working chairman of the NPP.

At a press meet called to announce the new party, Augustine said they will approach the Election Commission soon to register the name and the flag of NPP.

"We are not against any political party. We don't have any particular affinity towards Congress, CPI(M) or BJP. We have an independent outlook," Augustine told reporters.

He, however, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one of the prominent leaders of the world and NPP will meet him to raise the party's demands for protecting farmers' interests.

Nellor said more people will join NPP in the coming days.

Nelloor, a prominent leader of the Kerala Congress, had on April 19, resigned from it as well as the Congress-led opposition UDF to float a "national-level" party which he claimed, would work for farmers' interests.

The formation of the new party by Nelloor is being viewed by many as a move to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and help the saffron party to gain a foothold in the southern state where it has no MLAs or MPs.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)