Standing firm on her revelation that senior CPM leader E P Jayarajan expressed interest in joining BJP a year ago, the party’s state vice president and Alappuzha NDA candidate Sobha Surendran said he withdrew from the move following threats from the CPM leadership in Kerala. In an interview with TNIE’s Manoj Viswanathan, Sobha revealed details of her talks with Jayarajan.
Excerpts
When did talks with Jayarajan happen?
January 2023. I was working as the co-convener of BJP’s five-member committee for a national membership drive. I contacted many leaders from both Congress and CPM in Kerala. I held three rounds of talks with Jayarajan. The third and final round was held in New Delhi during the second week of January. Top BJP leaders were scheduled to meet Jayarajan when he returned to Kerala abruptly without informing me.
What prompted him to leave?
I believe he was forced to withdraw because of the threat from the party leadership. Jayarajan had arrived in New Delhi along with T G Nandakumar, a controversial figure. I think Nandakumar leaked the information to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. I suspect he was trying to act as a double agent and extract money from both sides. When he started making demands, I told Nandakumar that BJP is not a party that takes money and gives post to people. He was trying to avoid direct talks between BJP leadership and Jayarajan. I asked him who he was to demand favours on behalf of Jayarajan.
Did you hold talks with Jayarajan directly?
Yes, I met him at Nandakumar’s house. Jayarajan and Nandakumar came to Delhi by the same flight and I went separately.
Did Jayarajan withdraw because you refused to accept his demands?
No. He was ready to join BJP. Meanwhile, he was under pressure from the CPM leadership. I suspect he received warning calls from Kerala.
Did any other CPM leader express interest to join BJP?
I met many leaders of CPM and Congress at the district and mandalam levels in Kerala. One of them was a prominent CPM leader.
What prompted you to release the information on polling eve?
I was locked in a three-way fight in Alappuzha and word was out that I may win. At this juncture, Nandakumar connived with CPM and tried to scuttle my chances by spreading fake news against me. A prominent news channel released an item saying BJP national general secretary in charge of organisation B L Santhosh has submitted a report to the national leadership stating Sobha Surendran is not on good terms with the Alappuzha district leadership. The news was damaging to me. I urged the reporter to withdraw the report as it was false information. The channel owner said they will withdraw the news only if I stopped raising certain issues. Nandakumar intervened and demanded I shouldn’t talk about a particular issue. How can we allow such a shady character to intervene in my poll campaign?
Was the revelation more damaging to Jayarajan than Nandakumar?
He should have thought about the consequences.
His abrupt return affected my credibility as the national leadership had trusted my words. Still, I didn’t make any move to humiliate him. I was provoked by the dirty tricks they played to defeat me in Alappuzha. They targeted me as I stood with the people of Alappuzha.
Did you hold talks with Jayarajan before Prakash Javadekar met him?
I don’t know about the talks between Jayarajan and Javadekar. I held talks with him when he was miffed as he was neglected by the leadership. Jayarajan claims he never met me and says he will file a case against me. Nandakumar has also accepted that we held talks with Jayarajan. Why is Jayarajan reluctant to file a complaint against Nandakumar? I think Jayarajan is afraid that Nandakumar may release evidence regarding the talks.
What are you planning to do next?
The news channel tried to ruin my chances by releasing a false report that I will be pushed to the third position. I am planning to approach a national agency demanding a probe against the people who have invested in the channel. (Though TNIE tried to contact E P Jayarajan, he did not respond to our calls.)