The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) in Kerala is investigating claims that Thomas K. Thomas, the MLA from Kuttanad, offered Rs 50 crore each to two members of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) for defecting to the competing NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar, which has a nascent presence in the state, seemingly to exert pressure on chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan regarding a cabinet position and strengthen the BJP camp.
The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) in Kerala is investigating claims that Thomas K. Thomas, its MLA from Kuttanad, allegedly proposed Rs 50 crore to two legislators of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) to switch allegiance to the opposing NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar, which has a nascent presence in the state, seemingly to exert pressure on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan regarding a cabinet position and strengthen the BJP camp.
Thomas, under pressure, has rejected the claims and called for the Vijayan government to investigate the issue comprehensively.
Raju, a previous transport minister, was the one who presented the horse-trading allegation to the chief minister, stating that the bribe was proposed in June. However, when Vijayan verified this with Kunjumon, he seemingly refuted everything.
The controversy over horse-trading surfaced in the media following Vijayan’s apparent mention of it during the CPI(M) state secretariat meeting in Thrissur on October 25. He reportedly elaborated on why NCP(SCP) leader and Elathur MLA A.K. Saseendran would not be replaced as the forest and wildlife minister.
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According to reports, it is Saseendran’s cabinet position that Thomas has been seeking. Saseendran, on the other hand, maintains a strong relationship with both Vijayan and the CPI(M), and has declined to step aside.
Political analysts suggest that Thomas’s purported effort to instigate a defection in the LDF is a strategy to pressure Vijayan into including him. If the move had succeeded, it would have indirectly aided the BJP in Kerala because Ajit Pawar is an ally of the party within the Maharashtra administration.
