In Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur, the persisting imbroglio stemming from the allegations leveled against LDF convener E P Jayarajan concerning his purported inclination towards joining the BJP, remained unabated on the recent day, with the Congress urging the CPI(M) hierarchy to elucidate the rationale behind his rendezvous with BJP luminary Prakash Javadekar.
Dismissing the accusations, the Left faction asserted that it was a stratagem devised by the Congress to obfuscate its chagrin over the exodus of party stalwarts towards the BJP ranks. Senior BJP figure Shoba Surendran alleged that an intermediary endeavored to facilitate Jayarajan’s putative transition “who purportedly evinced interest in aligning with the BJP”. On the day of the electoral contest, Congress chieftain K Sudhakaran and the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, V D Satheesan, launched diatribes against the LDF convener, insinuating a clandestine accord between the BJP and the CPI(M).
In an interaction with the press today, Satheesan queried the rationale behind the rendezvous between the LDF convener and Javadekar. “What impelled the LDF convener to confer with the BJP’s emissary for Kerala, Prakash Javadekar? What topics were broached during their discourse? Was it centered on a commercial transaction? Or a political compact? Is there any synergistic engagement between them?” he pondered.
Satheesan also cast aspersions on whether Jayarajan functioned as a “liaison between the Chief Minister and the BJP” to resolve the litigations against Vijayan. “Vijayan vociferously defended Jayarajan’s parley with Javadekar. However, he castigated his rendezvous with Nandakumar (power-broker),” Satheesan alleged.
Meanwhile, Isaac informed the media that the issue would be deliberated upon in the appropriate party conclave. “The contentious matter shall undoubtedly be deliberated upon in the appropriate party conclave. The CM has articulated the party’s stance. The remaining aspects shall be scrutinized and adjudicated upon within the party echelons,” Isaac appended.
Extending support to the LDF convener, CPI(M) luminary M V Jayarajan contended today that the imbroglio was contrived by the Congress to obfuscate the reality of their members defecting to the BJP. “The defection of Congress members to the BJP transcends regional boundaries. The president of KPCC himself proclaimed his inclination towards the BJP. In the run-up to the elections, rumors surfaced about a faction of Congress members from Kerala contemplating joining the BJP. They are endeavoring to mask their chagrin,” M V Jayarajan averred.
M V Jayarajan also noted that shortly before the elections in Kerala, Sudhakaran’s erstwhile personal assistant joined the BJP. He further highlighted that senior Congress figure A K Antony’s progeny, Anil K Antony, embraced the BJP and contested from the Pathanamthitta constituency on its ticket.
“A K Antony declined to campaign against the BJP in Pathanamthitta. Ergo, this furor is merely a smokescreen to conceal these discomfitures,” M V Jayarajan contended. E P Jayarajan conceded his encounter with Prakash Javadekar on Friday and acknowledged his failure to relay the same to his party.
Following his ballot casting on Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan cautioned his party comrade to exercise vigilance in his affiliations. Promptly after Sudhakaran raised the allegations, E P Jayarajan accused the KPCC chief of journeying to Chennai to confer with certain BJP figures with intentions to join the party. Jayarajan insinuated that Sudhakaran returned following the intervention of certain Congress stalwarts.