In a stunning political turnaround in Kerala, former Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader S Rajendran officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, sending ripples through the state’s assembly election battle.

Rajendran — a three-term MLA from the Devikulam constituency in Idukki — received BJP membership from party state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the party headquarters, declaring his intention to work on development issues in the plantation-dominated high range region.

Once a prominent face of the Left in Kerala, Rajendran’s ties with the CPM had been strained after he was sidelined ahead of the 2021 polls and later suspended from the party. He chose not to renew his party membership after his suspension ended, fueling speculation about his future.

Upon joining the BJP, Rajendran stated that he has no electoral conditions or personal demands, and emphasized his focus on resolving longstanding issues in hilly plantation belts — a demographic the BJP aims to court ahead of the polls.

State BJP chief Chandrasekhar welcomed the veteran leader, framing his entry as part of the party’s broader pitch for a “Viksit Kerala” and criticizing the decades of inaction by both the Left and Congress regimes.

Political observers say Rajendran’s defection could be a symbolic blow to the CPM in Kerala’s high ranges while giving the BJP a narrative boost as it battles to expand its footprint in the traditionally Left-dominated state.