Janata Dal (United) Kerala unit president M.P. Veerendrakumar has decided to relinquish his Rajya Sabha membership amid the political crisis gripping the party at the State-level.
“I do not want to continue as MP since the party at the national level led by President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has become part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA),” he said on Wednesday.
On shifting coalition loyalties, he said that State committee of the party has not taken any decision about leaving the Congress - led United Democratic Front and joining the CPI(M)- led Left Democratic Front till now.
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Mr. Veerendrakumar said that he had already spoken to Janata Dal (Secular) leaders K. Krishnankutty and C.K. Nanu and that they had assured him of all support of working together. However he had been unable to apprise Minister Mathew T. Thomas, also of Janata Dal (Secular) of the developments.
He said that plans were afoot to revive the defunct the Socialist Janata (Democratic). Any decision to merge the Kerala unit of the JD(U) with the JD(S) would be foolish, Mr. Veerendrakumar said.
With the Election Commission of India ruling that the faction led by Nitish Kumar is the recognised JD(U), the Kerala unit had been exploring two possibilities — either revive the defunct Socialist Janata ( Democratic) or merge the party with the Socialist Janata Party.
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However the issue of retaining the Rajya Sabha membership of Mr. Veerendrakumar has been confronting the party at least on two counts – it was offered to the party by the United Democratic Front and he was elected on the JD(U) ticket. Till now the party had been hoping that Mr. Veerendrakumar will get impunity under the anti-defection law.
However JD(U) chief general secretary and national spokesman K.C. Tyagi had told The Hindu that Mr. Veeendrakumar would have to relinquish his Rajya Sabha if he defied the political decision of the party including aligning with the Sharad Yadav faction.