Ahead of 2019, 4 new allies to join Left government in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Seeking to widen its political base ahead of 2019, the ruling CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front in Kerala inducted four more parties into its fold.

A crucial front meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, decided to include the Loktantrik Janata Dal led in the state by media baron and Rajya Sabha MP, M P Veerendra Kumar, the K Balakrishna Pillai-led Kerala Congress (B), the Indian National League (INL) and Democratic Kerala Congress (DKC) as new allies.

The other LDF constituents are CPI(M), CPI, Janata Dal (S), NCP, Kerala Congress (Scaria Thomas) and Congress (Secular).

Announcing the decision, LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan said though several parties have been cooperating with the LDF for some time, the final decision was taken about the four parties only.

"As the Congress and the BJP are taking positions which would destroy Kerala's social achievements and destabilise the state by dividing it on communal lines, the LDF is joining hands with similar minds who have taken a stand against this," he said.

Among the new allies, only the Kerala Congress (B), which has been cooperating with LDF since the last Assembly polls, has a legislator in the House- K B Ganesh Kumar.

Though KC(B) was an ally in the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front when it was in power last time, it had snapped ties with it in 2015 and has been supporting the LDF from outside.

INL, formed by leaders who had parted ways with the Indian Union Muslim League years ago, has been supporting the left front for quite some time.

The LDF inducted more parties into its fold with an aim to win maximum seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, sources said.