THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of Opposition UDF putting the Jose K Mani faction of Kerala Congress (M) on notice, the state politics is all set to witness another political realignment. The merger of Left constituents Janata Dal (Secular) and Loktantrik Janata Dal, which has been in the air for sometime now, could finally become a reality this month.
Sources confirmed that an in-principle decision has been taken, and currently the modalities are being worked out. A declaration of merger is expected to be out in two weeks. Though no final decision has been taken, it’s expected that senior JD(S) leader and Vadakara MLA C K Nanu would be the party chairman, while LJD leader M V Shreyams Kumar will be the working chairman. “An in-principle decision has been made about the merger. Hopefully, it would be finalised by this month itself,” said a senior JD(S) leader.
While JD(S) has three MLAs -- Water Resource Minister K Krishnan Kutty, Nanu and Tiruvalla MLA Mathew T Thomas -- the LJD has currently no representation in the assembly. The merger would help both parties in the coming local body poll and the assembly elections thereafter. Shreyams Kumar along with former minister K P Mohanan had met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in the state capital two days ago to discuss the merger. Once the merger becomes a reality, Shreyams Kumar could be considered for the Rajya Sabha seat, which fell vacant with the demise of his father M P Veerendra Kumar.
Till 2009, the two parties were a single entity under M P Veerendra Kumar, who passed away last month. Once it split, one of the factions led by Veerendra Kumar joined the UDF while the other remained with the Left. In 2017, the Veerendra Kumar faction returned to the Left front. The merger has been on the cards for a while, as the LJD state committee had taken a decision in this regard a couple of months ago. A five-member committee with party secretary general Sheikh P Harris has also been constituted to work out the modalities of the merger.
A meeting in this regard was scheduled to be held last month, but was postponed after Veerendra Kumar passed away. “Talks are currently on with JD(S). The modalities are being worked out. A five-member sub-committee was formed to discuss the merger and related matters but it couldn’t meet after the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s not a closed chapter, but a final decision has not been taken,” Shreyams Kumar told TNIE.