Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Apr 10 (IANS): Seven-time legislator P.C. George's Kerala Janapaksham Secular on Wednesday became the newest constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Kerala.
The announcement was made here by Kerala BJP President P.S. Sreedharan Pillai in the presence of BJP national Secretary Satya Kumar and George himself.
The 67-year-old George, who represents the Poonjar assembly constituency in Kottayam district, was a member of the erstwhile Kerala Congress, then Kerala Congress faction led by former State Minister P.J. Joseph, then moved base to the party of now deceased K.M. Mani before floating his own party.
In the 2016 assembly polls, George recorded his seventh electoral victory with a margin of over 27,000 votes, defeating candidates put up by the three political fronts in the state.
The first signs that George was moving base towards the NDA came last year, when he announced he would sit alongside the lone BJP legislator O. Rajagopal in the assembly to protest the manner in which the Kerala government allowed breaching of the traditions and culture of the famed Sabarimala temple after the apex court ruled that the temple should be opened to women of all age groups.
Speaking to IANS, George said the decision to join the NDA was an unanimous decision of his party and he was happy to see the election manifesto of the BJP, which has given consideration to the minority communities.
"I will be sharing the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at Kozhikode on Friday when he will be addressing the election rally. I am convinced that Modi can do a lot of good and hence decided to become an ally of NDA," said George and added that the BJP will spring a surprise in Kerala when votes in the Lok Sabha polls are counted on May 23.
Parts of the Sabarimala temple town comes under George's assembly constituency and it remains to be seen if this is going to help the BJP candidate K.Surendran fighting from the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha seat.
With George's party entering the NDA, its strength in the assembly goes to two, as other allies like Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, and the Kerala Congress faction led by P.C. Thomas and others do not have any representation.