With the national leadership of the Janata Dal (Secular) [JD-S] advancing a proposal for an electoral alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Kerala unit of the party is once again at a crossroads regarding its political future.
This scenario mirrors a precedent when the State unit distanced itself from JD(S) national leadership during its pact with the BJP in Karnataka in 2006, striving to assert its autonomy within the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M]-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), of which it is a coalition partner.
“We cannot support the national leadership’s decision to ally with the BJP. Our party is an integral part of the LDF coalition. A meeting has been convened in Thiruvananthapuram this Thursday to determine our course of action,” K. Lohia, JD(S) State secretary, said.