JD(S) Kerala may try to remain as 'official' faction

Thiruvananthapuram: The JD(S) Kerala unit, which is under pressure to decide future course of action, is likely to explore option of remaining as the official faction by considering the decision of party supremo H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy led faction to join the BJP-led NDA as an unofficial one.

A panel of four senior party leaders formed by the JD(S) state unit is likely to submit a suggestion in this regard at the state leadership meeting to be held this week.

Party sources told DH that apart from Kerala, party units in many other states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Bihar are also of the view that the faction that decided to join NDA need to be considered as a rebel faction as the decision was against party's ideology and not even discussed at any forums of the party. There is demand from other states too to convene a national council and declare that the decision to join NDA was not official.

Though suggestions came up in Kerala unit of JD(S) to form a new unit in Kerala, the four member panel is learnt to be of the view that since it was Gowda and his son led faction that took the 'unofficial decision', there was no need for the Kerala unit to leave the official JD(S).

A recent row over a remark of Gowda that the decision to join NDA had Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's concurrence had put further pressure on JD(S) Kerala unit to decide its future course of action at the earliest. Though the party state leadership reiterated that it was opposing alliance with BJP and would remain with left-front in Kerala, political opponents, especially the Congress, was alleging of BJP-CPM nexus through JD(S) and the JD(S) Kerala unit is still remaining as part of Gowda led party technically.

Senior leader C K Nanu, Neelalohithadasan Nadar, Jose Thettayil and P M Safarulla are the members of the four member panel.