THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP’s attempt to corner the UDF and LDF over the alleged CMRL pay-off diary has instead boomeranged and turned the spotlight inward, reopening old factional faultlines.
The trouble began when BJP state vice-president Shone George disclosed on Thursday that the purported diary contained references to prominent UDF and LDF leaders. The offensive soon acquired an uncomfortable twist when another entry referring to “Muraleedharan BJP” drew attention to former Union minister and party MLA V Muraleedharan.
Muraleedharan initially brushed aside the reference, saying it need not refer to him. But his unease became evident after state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said any BJP leader found involved should be investigated. The Muraleedharan camp viewed the stance as an attempt to isolate the former Union minister. “There is also a belief that Shone’s press conference had the tacit backing of the state leadership and was intended to keep Muraleedharan on the defensive,” a party insider said.
By Friday, Muraleedharan’s tone had turned combative. Pressed by the media, he questioned the diary’s authenticity, distanced himself from Shone’s claims and put the onus of Shone’s remarks on Chandrasekhar. “You should ask the state president about the state vice-president’s remarks,” Muraleedharan said.
With the confrontation threatening to spill into an open factional fight, Chandrasekhar moved to contain the damage, asserting that the party stood behind Muraleedharan. “Senior leaders S Suresh and M T Ramesh were also involved in efforts to contain the fallout,” a party source said.
The RSS camp, meanwhile, was unhappy over references to the organisation in the alleged pay-off episode, the source added. Muraleedharan subsequently toned down his stand, describing Shone as a party colleague and stating that he had not lodged any complaint within the organisation against him.
Publicly, the flare-up may have been contained. But the resentment remains. The party had sought to claim the moral high ground by demanding scrutiny of political leaders named in the diary. Instead, the episode produced an awkward irony and exposed factional fissures the BJP may have preferred to keep under wraps.
