Met Javadekar, admits CPM leader; should be vigilant: CM

Addressing the media in Alappuzha, where she is the BJP candidate, Sobha had said Thursday, “Jayarajan had contacted me through the mobile number of his son… CM Vijayan knows the reasons why Jayarajan had withdrawn from the decision. I hadn’t revealed Jayarajan’s name because I wanted to see him alive. He had gone back from the decision fearing a CPI(M) attack.”

While Jayarajan initially dismissed Surendran’s claims as “utter lies”, he admitted on Friday that he met Javadekar in Thiruvananthapuram. “I met him at my son’s flat. Javadekar came to the flat realising that I was there. We did not discuss politics. I wanted to go for a meeting and before leaving the flat, I told my son to give tea to Javadekar. I did not inform the party about this meeting,” he said.

Asked about this, Javadekar said, “We may have met in his constituency, the airport, or in Parliament. I do meet a lot of people. I may have shared a meal with Shashi Tharoor or other political leaders. Is it a crime? What’s wrong with it?”

He also hit out at Kerala Congress president K Sudhakaran, who has targeted the Left over Jayarajan’s “plans” to jump ship. “It is bogus news. How does Sudhakaran know who I meet or talk to?” Javadekar said.

The controversy has left the CPI(M) red faced, given that the party has targeted the Congress throughout the campaign over “soft Hindutva” and the exodus of its leaders to the BJP. “Jayarajan should have been vigilant before getting in touch with such people… In the past also, Jayarajan failed to be careful on such occasions. He should have avoided meeting with Javadekar in the presence of a person of suspicious character (self-styled power broker T G Nandakumar),” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters after casting his vote in Kannur on Friday.

A few days ago, Nandakumar too had claimed that Jayarajan held discussions with Javadekar. “BJP wanted to win the Lok Sabha election from Kerala with the support of the Left. Javadekar had promised to settle the SNC Lavalin case. But, Jayarajan was not ready for that deal,” he had claimed.

Jayarajan is said to have been unhappy after being overlooked for the position of CPI(M) state secretary after the death of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The post is currently held by M V Govindan “Master”, who is Jayarajan’s junior. Last year, he faced criticism for keeping away from party functions.

Senior Congress leader and party candidate in Thrissur, K Muraleedharan, meanwhile said there was a clear deal between CPI(M) and BJP in Kerala to defeat the Congress. “CPI(M) was ready to support BJP in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, so that the party can win two seats in Kerala. BJP will, in turn, support CPI(M) in all other 18 seats in Kerala. Congress will expose that deal and win in all seats,” he said.

In the past, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi had alleged a nexus between BJP and CPI(M), prompting a sharp reaction from Vijayan.