Deve Gowda claims Pinarayi Vijayan knew of JDS-BJP alliance in Karnataka

In a revelation that is likely to put Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan in a bind, Janata Dal (Secular) president and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda claimed that since a JD(S) MLA is a minister in the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala, he had informed the CM about the alliance and had his support in forming an alliance with BJP in Karnataka.

Gowda said, “In Kerala, JD(S) is part of the government and our MLA K Krishnankutty is a minister. He supported the alliance with BJP and he informed the CM. He consented as that was the only way to save the party.”

The JD(S) patriarch claimed that all the state units of the party including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra had given their consent to align with the BJP. He stated that many Muslim leaders in JD(S) have also supported the party’s decision to align with BJP.

Gowda was addressing the media after removing his close aide and Karnataka unit president CM Ibrahim who opposed the alliance with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Karnataka state unit has been dissolved and Gowda appointed his son and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy as its ad-hoc president.

However, CPI(M) state committee member Anil Kumar has denied these allegations. “To say that Deve Gowda takes decisions after discussing with the chief minister of another state is politically motivated and nonsensical,” claimed Kumar.

Supporting the CPI(M) claim, Krishnankutty said that as far as his knowledge goes, the Kerala CM had not supported the JD(S) decision and claimed that the Kerala unit of JD(S) was independent.

In Kerala, the JDS-BJP alliance will prove to be a headache to Kerala's ruling front LDF as long as the JD(S) continues to be part of it, especially with the Opposition questioning Vijayan why they had not ousted JD(S) from their front.

Congress MP K Muraleedharan accused the CPM of indirectly supporting BJP and called the party as BJP’s ‘B’ team in Kerala.