Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) [KJ(S)] leader P.C. George has announced his plans to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The decision, announced during a meeting of the KJ(S) State committee here on Saturday, assumes significance especially as speculations have already started doing the rounds that Mr. George is keen on contesting from Pathanamthitta or Kottayam as the NDA candidate. For the regional party, it also marks a second stint with the BJP-led alliance after exiting the coalition in 2019 by citing that “the party has failed to speak up for the minorities and uphold secularism.” The outfit had earlier joined the BJP-led NDA in the wake of the Sabarimala protests in 2018.
An official statement said the meeting unanimously decided to accept the leadership of Narendra Modi “who has made immense contributions to the country’s growth.” In this context, the party will be following a political programme in alignment with the NDA.
As the party is yet to kickstart any formal discussions in this regard with the NDA, it has also entrusted a five-member committee led by Mr. George with initiating the consultations. The meeting accused the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala of attempting to torpedo the programmes initiated by the Union government.
Widening of discord
The development, meanwhile, also marks the widening of Mr. George’s discord with the two leading political coalitions in the State led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Congress as well as the Muslim electorate.
While Mr. George has effectively fashioned a narrative against political Islam in a language more inflammatory than many far-right outfits, the discontent expressed by the Catholic Church over the growing support for the Palestine cause in the State appears to have emboldened his latest move.
“The coalition led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been partial in lending its support to the Hamas in an apparent bid to appease the Muslim voters. Surprisingly, the Congress too has taken the same route, Mr. George said, addressing the party State committee.
Responding to the development, BJP State president K. Surendran said any formal discussions with the KJ(S) were yet to take place.
