Decode Politics: In Kerala, why CPI(M) has landed in soup amid polls over Jayarajan-Javadekar meeting

The ruling CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala has found itself in a spot in the wake of revelations that the CPI(M) central committee member and LDF convener, E P Jayarajan, had held discussions with the BJP’s Kerala in charge Prakash Javadekar.

The controversy, which snowballed on Friday – the day Kerala went to the Lok Sabha polls – stems from senior BJP leader Sobha Surendran’s charge that Jayarajan had completed 90% of his discussions regarding his switch to the BJP over the last one year, but backtracked at the last moment fearing the CPI(M). There was no denial from Jayarajan regarding his meeting with Javadekar.

In the midst of voting, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ticked off his senior party colleague, saying that Jayarajan should have been more careful and avoided meeting Javadekar.

The row erupted with Sobha, who is the BJP candidate in Alappuzha, alleging that certain business groups were working against her after sensing her “popularity and chances to win the election”. On April 23, a self-styled power broker T G Nandakumar alleged in Delhi that Sobha had taken Rs 10 lakh from him in connection with a land deal, but never returned the money.

Back in Kerala the next day, Sobha told the media that Nandakumar had met her to discuss recruiting a prominent CPI(M) leader from Kannur for the BJP. Sobha described this CPI(M) leader as having the stature of CM Vijayan. “Once when I talked to Nandakumar about selling my land, he came with Rs 10 lakh, but I insisted on a bank transaction. He was not ready, so there was no deal,” she claimed.

Seizing on Sobha’s remarks, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and the party’s Kannur candidate, K Sudhakaran said that the CPI(M) leader who had held discussions with