THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP State leadership have decided to take a wait and watch policy implying that they are buying time to appease the beleaguered BDJS leadership. BDJS president Thushar Vellappally and SNDP Yogam president Vellapally Natesan have already announced that they are severing ties with the NDA Kerala chapter formed after the 2015 Sept BJP national executive meeting in Kozhikode. But the father-son duo is exploring other possibilities, especially joining UDF.
On Friday, Mr Thushar came down heavily on the BJP for strained ties. At the same time, he maintained that BDJS is looking for new alliances. Deccan Chronicle had reported recently that Vellapally had entrusted BDJS general secretary Subhash Vasu to hold talks with Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, who is keen to increase seats in his home district, Alappuzha. Currently, Congress has got only one seat (Haripad which he holds), and he has allegedly promised the BDJS five seats which once belonged to JSS in Alappuzha.
A top BJP leader told DC that it was B. L. Santhosh, joint general secretary (org.) who should be taking up the issue with party president Amit Shah. "Unfortunately Santhosh is not interested in taking it up as his close associate and former state president V. Muraleedharan is not keen to see another Ezhava leader getting promoted", he said. However, the NDA Kerala chapter led by its chairman Kummanam Rajasekharan had held a meeting with the allies in Thrissur on Dec. 8 at which Tushar had told them all was well between them and urged them to organise protests against the LDF government's anti-people policies.
Its joint convener and former BJP state president P. K. Krishnadas told DC that BDJS would not ditch them. "BDJS will stay put with NDA. We will work unitedly and march towards Lok Sabha elections. It was, in fact, the BDJS that urged that NDA organise conventions in all the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies during Jan and Feb in the run-up to the national elections", said Mr Krishnadas. Interestingly, Kummanam is tight-lipped on Thushar's outburst.
