Discontent brews in Kerala BJP after senior leaders miss out on state in-charge roles

Thiruvananthapuram: Discontent is brewing in the Kerala BJP over the appointment of state in-charges as part of a reorganisation ahead of the Lok Sabha election after new national president Nitin Nabin took charge.

The main source of resentment is the decision to assign leaders from Kerala to states considered to have limited political significance, while leaving out senior leaders including V Muraleedharan and P K Krishnadas. Former governor Kummanam Rajasekharan was also not considered for an in-charge role. 

There had been expectations within the Kerala unit that Muraleedharan, a former Union minister and former state BJP president, would receive a significant role at the national level.

Muraleedharan had until recently been the BJP's in-charge of Andhra Pradesh. However, he has not been given charge of any state in the latest appointments.

P K Krishnadas, another former state BJP president who had been in charge of Telangana, has also been left out of the latest appointments.

K Surendran, who recently became a national secretary after serving as the Kerala BJP president, has been given charge of Puducherry. Those supporting Surendran had expected him to receive a more prominent position at the national level. Instead, he has been appointed as a national secretary and given the Puducherry responsibility.

Former Union minister George Kurian, who lost his ministerial position, has been appointed in-charge of Lakshadweep.

The appointments have caused resentment among sections of the Kerala unit, with some leaders questioning the significance of the states and Union territories assigned to senior Kerala leaders.

In contrast, Anil Antony, son of former Kerala chief minister A K Antony, has been appointed in-charge of Nagaland and co-in-charge of Goa.

The party's prabharis, or state in-charges, will be part of the BJP's national executive committee.

Despite the reported resentment, none of the leaders has so far been willing to publicly criticise the appointments, apparently amid concerns about the party leadership.

Several prominent leaders who were left out of the latest appointments also did not attend the BJP core committee meeting held online on Wednesday night.

The developments come as the Kerala BJP prepares to intensify its political campaign against the state government.

BJP plans wider campaign against Kerala government

The BJP core committee decided to launch a wider campaign against the government, raising issues including allegations of bribery and hawala transactions and the alleged failure to register cases in connection with them.

The party's campaign will centre on the argument that the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) are not fundamentally different.

The BJP plans to present the two fronts as being politically aligned rather than as separate alternatives in its campaign against the state government.