Veteran politician P.C. George, a high-profile newcomer to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), appears to have thrown the party’s State unit off balance by accusing the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a key backward class ally, of scuttling his chances of contesting from the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency.
Known for his combative approach to politics, Mr. George alleged that BDJS leader Thushar Vellappally and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam leader Vellappally Natesan had plotted with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to prejudice the BJP leadership against him. The BDJS has taken strong exception to Mr. George’s statement, accusing the veteran of being a conspiracist and harbouring a bigoted view of the Ezhava community, a crucial electoral bloc, and arguably, the numerically largest Hindu caste group in the State.
The BJP is reportedly worried about the feud within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) impacting the party’s attempt to sway backward class and Christian votes in its favour, chiefly in central and south Kerala. Mr. Vellappally has rushed to New Delhi to meet BJP president J.P. Nadda to complain about Mr. George, who he has accused of “insulting the SNDP Yogam, BDJS, and the Ezhava community as a whole”.
On Anil Antony
Mr. George also arguably did the BJP a disfavour by expressing scepticism about the winnability of the party’s candidate from Pathanamthitta, Anil K. Antony. Mr. Antony, son of senior Congress leader A.K. Antony, had defected to the BJP last year. Mr. George claimed he stood a better chance of bagging winning in the constituency because Mr. Antony was new to the voters. Mr George pointed out that Mr. Antony, who had for long worked in New Delhi, was a stranger to the State’s political landscape.
Mr. George said the possibility of his victory in Pathanamthitta had perturbed Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Natesan, causing them to scuttle his candidacy. Recently, Mr. Natesan had termed Mr. George the “most untrustworthy leader ever in Kerala’s political history”.
State unit’s version
BJP State president K. Surendran said in New Delhi that the party’s provisional list from Kerala had three names for each Lok Sabha seat. He said the party’s national leadership took the final call.
The BJP perceives Pathanamthitta as a top-priority constituency. Mr Surendran had bagged 2.97 lakh votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Moreover, the constituency was the main staging area of the BJP’s “Save Sabarimala” campaign.
Mr. George had done some groundwork to build on Mr. Surendran’s strong showing in Pathanamthitta, and his public utterances seemed to convey a sense of angry disappointment.
