THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A faction of the Janathipathya Samrakshana Samithi (JSS) led by five-time MLA AV Thamarakshan has joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), marking an expansion of the front in the state ahead of the Assembly elections.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar welcomed Thamarakshan at a meeting of the saffron alliance here on Thursday.
JSS, founded by the late KR Gouri after she fell out with the CPM. has pockets of influence mainly in Alappuzha and Kollam districts.
Meanwhile, Rajan Babu, leading another faction of the JSS, said Thamarakshan was expelled from the post of state president in August last year for "anti-party activities."
"I am the leader of the Election Commission-recognised JSS and a case has already been filed against Thamarakshan and his supporters for using the JSS symbol and flag," Rajan Babu said.
However, Thamarakshan maintained that the state committee of the party had removed Babu from the post.
At present, a legal dispute exists over the official leadership of the party with both sides staking claim.
In 2011, UDF constituent JSS was offered the Ambalappuzha assembly seat but the party chose not to contest.
A long-time member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Thamarakshan broke away from the RSP and merged with the JSS in 2009. In 2012, he resigned from the JSS, alleging that UDF, of which it was a part, had failed to maintain harmony between religious communities. After brief stints in a few other parties, Thamarakshan came back to JSS as the party's state president in 2021 and was expelled in 2025.