LDF convener E.P. Jayarajan admits meeting BJP’s Prakash Javadekar 

LDF convener ep jayarajan denies secret BJP meeting amid accusations of defection plot, sparking political controversy in Kerala.

Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener E.P. Jayarajan on April 26 told reporters in Kannur that he had briefly met Prakash Javadekar, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Kerala in-charge, at his son’s flat in Thiruvananthapuram. 

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran had stirred up a storm on April 25, accusing Mr. Jayarajan of secretly plotting to defect to the BJP by opening a secret communication channel with the party’s leadership. 

The LDF found itself in a spot after BJP leader Sobha Surendran and T.G. Nandakumar, a self-styled power broker, endorsed the accusation. 

Mr. Jayarajan said he was partaking in his grandchild’s birthday when Mr. Javadekar and Mr. Nandakumar dropped in without prior intimation. 

He said he dodged discussing politics with the BJP leader and excused himself by stating that he had a meeting to attend. 

Mr. Jayarajan said he did not feel the need to inform the CPI(M) leadership about the interaction. “As LDF convener, people of different political dispositions, including from the Congress, meet me as part of daily work. I have not felt the necessity to keep the party appraised about routine everyday meetings”, he said.

Mr. Jayarajan accused Mr. Sudhakaran of conspiring with Ms. Surendran to create a last-minute election-eve controversy to cover up the former’s dalliance with the BJP leadership.