BJP assured respect for NDA allies in Kerala: P.C.George

Assured by BJP's top leadership of being treated with respect, Kerala Janapaksham (Secular), the newest ally of the NDA in the state, feels its joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was the right decision, said its chief P.C.George.

"It was in April that our party decided to join the NDA. I met BJP President Amit Shah in Pathanamthitta. Later, I also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice and the response from both was very warm," Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) founder and seven-time Kerala legislator, George told IANS.

"Shah has asked me to come to Delhi for more discussions on how to strengthen the NDA in Kerala. I will be going to meet both Shah and the PM soon. They have assured us that they will treat their allies with respect," added George.

The NDA in Kerala includes, Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), Kerala Congress (Thomas), Lok Jana Shakthi, Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) and a few other small parties.

In the 140-member Kerala Assembly, the NDA has two legislators 90-year-old BJP veteran O.Rajagopal and now George.

Having started as Congress member, George over the years, has moved across different factions of the Kerala Congress, formed his own Kerala Congress only to disband it and recently formed the Kerala Janapaksham (Secular). He joined the NDA last month, after negotiating with both the Left and the Congress-led UDF.

BDJS is the second biggest NDA ally in the state and has had a love-hate relation with the BJP since it was formed in 2015. For long it has been demanding a Rajya Sabha seat for its chief Tushar Vellapally, who contested from Wayanad and lost his security deposit, after Rahul Gandhi won the Lok Sabha seat with the highest-ever margin in the state of over four lakh votes. IANS