After Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shobha Surendran and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran had alleged that Left Democratic Front (LDF) convenor E.P. Jayarajan had discussions with Prakash Javadekar regarding joining the saffron party, the Left cadres reacted with shock and incredulity.
On April 25, Surendran, a national executive member of the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency had claimed that Jayarajan, who is also the central committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] had nearly made a decision to join the BJP, but backed out fearing retaliation from his party.
Meanwhile, a political middleman T.G. Nandakumar had claimed that Javadekar met Jayarajan at a flat in Thiruvananthapuram in his presence, seeking CPI(M)’s assistance in securing the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat for the BJP.
According to Nandakumar,“Javadekar promised to resolve” some pending CBI cases against the Kerala government, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and some senior CPI(M) leaders of the state, “in exchange for the CPI(M)’s support in winning the Thrissur seat. However, E.P. (Jayarajan) denied the offer.”
Reacting to the allegations, Javadekar, the central BJP leader incharge of Kerala dismissed these claims as “bogus news”.
Further, Kerala chief minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] polit bureau member Vijayan came out in support of Jayarajan saying, “Everyone knows Jayarajan’s character. He maintains friendly relationships with people from various political backgrounds. There is nothing wrong with meeting Javadekar. I have also met him and conveyed that the BJP won’t gain anything from the elections here.”
Vijayan, however, added that “Jayarajan should have been more cautious” especially since “Nandakumar is known for his opportunistic motives.”
Similarly, the Left cadres were shocked since Jayarajan is considered a stalwart of the party and had survived assassination attempts by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the past and still carries a bullet in his body.
The recent development
The controversy has been brewing for a few days now.
On April 23, Nandakumar first accused NDA Lok Sabha candidates Surendran and Anil Antony of accepting money from him.
Addressing the media on the same day, Surendran said that the money was an advance payment for selling her land in Thrissur. Moreover, she alleged that Nandakumar had approached her to discuss the potential defection of a top CPI(M) leader to the BJP.
Two days later, in a press conference on April 25, Surendran underlined that the leader in question was Jayarajan who allegedly approached her through his son. She also claimed to have held discussions with Jayarajan on his son’s phone.
Both Jayarajan and his son, Jijith Raj have denied her allegation. Raj maintains that it was Surendran who had approached him. “While I was attending a wedding in Ernakulam, Shobha Surendran approached me and we met briefly. She was the one who asked for my number. Although she called me once or twice afterwards, I did not answer her calls. She is unnecessarily dragging us into these controversies,” he said.
Explaining his position, Jayarajan said, “I was at my son’s flat in Thiruvananthapuram to attend my grandson’s birthday celebration. During that time, someone contacted my son and asked for 10 minutes to meet me. It turned out to be Javadekar. He said he was passing through and wanted to drop by. I explicitly told him I had no interest in discussing politics [with him]”
Adding that he excused himself for a meeting, and Javadekar “left shortly after,” Jayarajan said, “That’s the extent of our conversation. My political principles and stance remain steadfast, unaffected by these meetings.”
The CPI (M) leader has maintained that “as the LDF convener” he often “engages with political figures from various parties” including Congress, BJP and others. “These interactions do not imply any intention to join them,” Jayarajan said.
While this controversy was unfolding, KPCC president Sudhakaran joined the fray, alleging that the BJP’s discussions with Jayarajan were mediated by Surendran and union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. He further claimed that the talks took place in Dubai.
“It’s been years since I have traveled to Dubai,” Jayarajan retorted, alleging it was Sudhakaran who had attempted to join the BJP.
“Sudhakaran himself revealed he was invited to Chennai by BJP leader Raja,” Jayarajan said.
Following Sudhakaran’s allegation that Jayarajan was set to join the BJP, Nandakumar addressed the media in Kochi and claimed that the the BJP had held discussions with Sudhakaran and almost succeeded in recruiting him but Sudhakaran backed out when he was appointed as KPCC president.
“I’m a leader who stood up against the RSS. They attempted to assassinate me multiple times,” Jayarajan said, comparing himself with Congress’s Sudhakaran, whom he accused of sending two RSS members to shoot him in 1995.
Anusha Paul is an independent journalist based in Kerala.
