The after-effects of the JD(S)'s alliance with the BJP in Karnataka continue to be felt in Kerala. Muddying waters further, JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda has claimed that the party's Karnataka tie-up had the blessing of its ally in Kerala, the ruling CPI(M). A day after Deve Gowda made the claim, CPI(M) Politburo member and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan shot down any possibility of it approving any such truck with the BJP. With the JD(S) own Muslim leaders in Karnataka questioning the party's decision to align with the BJP, Deve Gowda said Thursday that all its state units, including in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra, had provided their consent to the tie-up. About the Kerala unit specifically, Deve Gowda said: “After they understood the situation, they said that they would support us fully on the path we have taken, and our ministers in the Left government in Kerala have also given their consent. The Left party Chief Minister (Vijayan) has given the full concurrence to go forward in Karnataka with the BJP, to save the party. This is the position.” In Kerala, with its huge minority population, both the LDF and UDF claim to be anti-BJP while pointing fingers at each other. Last month, when Deve Gowda first announced that the JD(S) was joining the BJP-led NDA, its Kerala unit had distanced itself from this, saying any such alliance would weaken the anti-BJP front in Kerala. However, the Kerala unit remains within the JD(S) led by Deve Gowda, while Vijayan has held off pressure from the Congress-led UDF to remove the sole JD(S) minister from his Cabinet to show its sincerity about fighting the Sangh Parivar. Senior Congress legislator Ramesh Chennithala said Friday that Deve Gowda's statement had exposed Vijayan’s true leanings. “This regime of Vijayan is the baby of a secret CPI(M)-BJP affair. Deve Gowda’s claim is substantiated by the fact that the JD(S) nominee remains in the Vijayan Cabinet. Vijayan has joined hands with the BJP for a Congress-free India,’’ Chennithala said. Vijayan retorted calling Deve Gowda’s statement “rubbish”. “Deve Gowda is trying to find justifications for his political somersault. The JD(S) has been traditionally with the LDF in Kerala. The party's state unit has now snapped its ties with the national leadership. The CPI(M) never meddles in the internal matters of another party,” he said, adding that the CPI(M) could not be held responsible for someone else's “revelations”. Vijayan added that JD(S) leaders in Kerala, Mathew T Thomas and K Krishnankutty, had rejected Deve Gowda's decision, and asked him to clarify this. Later on Friday evening, Deve Gowda posted on X that the CPI(M) appeared to have not "followed what I said nor the context in which I said". He claimed he had never said that the CPI(M) in Kerala supports the BJP-JD(S) alliance. "I only said my party unit in Kerala is getting along with the LDF government as things within my party units outside Karnataka remain unresolved after our alliance with the BJP."
