Thiruvananthapuram: JD(S) claims to have got Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s support in forming an alliance with BJP in Karnataka. CPM rejected this statement made by the National JD(S) President and former Prime Minister H.D Deve Gowda and called it a trivial and absurd statement. The JD(S) Kerala unit has also rejected Deve Gowda’s remarks.

“JD(S) in Kerala is with the Left front. One of our MLAs there is a minister and he supported the alliance. They understood our reasons,” Deve Gowda was quoted as saying.

“To say that someone like Deve Gowda makes his party’s decisions after discussing with another state chief minister is politically motivated and nonsensical,” CPM state committee member Anil Kumar said.

Kerala JD(S) leader, K Krishnankutty on Friday, firmly refuted Gowda's statement. Opposing the national leadership's association with the BJP, Krishnankutty also emphasised the state unit's commitment to maintaining its alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).

"I met him (Deve Gowda) along with our state president, Mathew T Thomas, MLA, and informed him about our objection in joining the BJP. The state party unit stands by the earlier decision to stand firm with the Left party in Kerala," Krishnankutty, who is also a minister in the LDF government in Kerala, said.

The opposition Congress alleged that the JD(S) revelation had established an undercurrent between the ruling CPI(M) and the BJP in Kerala.

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala today said this is further evidenced by Krishnankutty's continued presence in the cabinet.

The CPI(M) state leadership is yet to officially react on the issue. Earlier, the Kerala JD(S) unit had rejected the central leadership's decision to join the NDA, opting to stand firmly with the LDF in the state.

This decision was made clear after a state committee meeting held in Kochi on October 7, where JD(S) Kerala president Mathew T Thomas underscored that the high command's announcement lacked prior discussion within any party forum.

On Thursday, Gowda, a former Prime Minister, had asserted that all state units of the JD(S), including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra, had provided their consent to align with the BJP.

"In Kerala, we are part of the government and our MLA is a minister there. These units understood the situation that made us to go with the BJP and supported our move. Our minister in the Left party's government (K Krishnankutty) in Kerala has given consent to us," he said.

"Kerala's Left government's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has given full concurrence to move forward in Karnataka with the BJP to save the party. This is the position," Gowda claimed. 

Meanwhile, Congress MP K Muraleedharan accused the CPM of indirectly supporting BJP and called the party as BJP’s ‘B’ team in Kerala.