Deve Gowda's faux pas lands Kerala JD (S) in fix

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 21 (IANS) Former Janata Dal (Secular) chief H.D. Deve Gowda's remark about his party joining the BJP-led NDA alliance with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's consent and the latter's categorical denial, has left the Kerala unit of JD(S) in a fix.

A full fledged ally of the ruling CPI(M)-led Left, the state JD(S) has its nominee K. Krishnankutty as the State Power Minister and its state president Mathew T. Thomas a legislator.

Following the incident, the Congress-led UDF, the principal opposition here, is breathing down Vijayan's neck and has termed him "leading the 'B' team of the BJP."

Now, the upcoming meeting of the State JD (S) meeting is gaining all attention as this impasse when their national party has joined as an ally of the BJP-led NDA, cannot take a divergent stand.

To make matters worse, the ousted Karnataka state president of the JD(S). C.M.Ibrahim has staked claim that his is the real JD (S) and will soon call a meeting of all like-minded party units.

A media critic on condition of anonymity said it's here that the Kerala unit of the JD (S) will find themselves in a fix. "If they decide to go with Ibrahim, then the two legislators here face the chances of getting disqualified and if they don't, then they and the Left will come under fire from the UDF on the issue of political morality," said the critic.

But giving the Kerala unit a clean chit, CPI(M) state secretary M.V.Govindan on Saturday said there is no question of political morality, as the Kerala unit all along has been with them.

"We are a political front with a clear political stand and our primary aim is to fight the BJP and the JD (S) is strongly with us and there are no other issues," said Govindan.

Meanwhile, fissures within the Kerala unit of JD(S) have also surfaced as there is a section in the party which has taken a position against the way things are going on in the party here and it will now be clear when the state committee of the party is expected to meet any time now to discuss this.