Congress: CPM’s “illicit relationship” with the BJP enabled the LDF to retake power in Kerala

The chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, came under fire from the opposition Congress on Friday when JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda said that Vijayan had supported his party’s decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Prior to the national elections of 2024, JD(S) joined the NDA in September. However, the party’s Kerala branch will continue to be a member of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which is headed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM. It said that the decision to join forces with the BJP was made unilaterally. One of the two JD(S) parliamentarians from Kerala, K Krishnankutty, is a member of Vijayan’s Cabinet.

The leader of the Congress, VD Satheesan, highlighted Gowda’s claim that Vijayan “gave full concurrence” and said that the CPM and BJP had an illegal relationship because of which the LDF was able to win re-election in 2021 and put a halt to inquiries into corruption. The CPM and the Vijayan administration in Kerala have received threats from the BJP. The BJP and Sangh Parivar are in charge of the Keralan government. It is odd, he said, that a party leader who belongs to the NDA is a cabinet member of the LDF. Gowda’s comments support the claim made by the opposition that Vijayan and the CPM have an illegitimate connection to the BJP. He insisted Krishnankutty leave the Cabinet within the next 24 hours.

Gowda’s comments, according to Vijayan, were false and total rubbish. “Gowda is fabricating claims to support his political reversals…CPM has never attempted to meddle in or express its opinions about JD(S) internal affairs. There was never a necessity for me to become involved in their internal problems, not even as chief minister. We don’t do that. Any disclosures made by anybody are not our fault. Gowda should amend his foolish assertions out of decorum and political decency.

He attacked the Congress, claiming that it controls local government in Kerala with the BJP.

Mathew T Thomas, the leader of the JD(S) in Kerala, criticized Gowda’s comments as being unfounded and untrue. “We think he was misinformed, which is why he said what he said. Or, given his late age and health issues, it’s a mistake. The agreement with the BJP didn’t need the approval of Kerala’s chief minister.

He stated that Gowda and Vijayan haven’t spoken in weeks or possibly years. As a result, the Kerala branch of the JDS condemns his comment as being without foundation. Added he Kerala approved a resolution condemning the JD(S) party’s intention to join forces with the BJP.