In a boost to BJP’s plans for Kerala, CK Janu, chairperson of the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha and perhaps the most influential Adivasi leader in the State, has decided to float a new party which will become a constituent of the NDA. Also, she may contest the May 16 Assembly election as NDA candidate from Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad district.
Janu announced the decision to float the new party, Janadhipathya Rashtreeya Sabha, on Wednesday after holding discussions with Vellappally Natesan, general secretary of the SNDP Yogam, the leading force behind the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a new party and a major constituent of the NDA in Kerala.
Stating that it would be a party of Adivasis and Dalits and that the process of the party formation was in the final stages, Janu said, “It will not be CK Janu’s party but it will be a party of several sections.” State BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan had the other day said that Janu would contest as NDA candidate in Sulthan Bathery.
The Adivasi leader said she was yet to take a final decision on contesting but added that she would be contesting as part of the NDA from Sulthan Bathery if the decision was to contest. Janu has been the most prominent Adivasi leader in Kerala for the past 15 years and the historic Muthanga agitation of Adivasis in February, 2003 was held under her leadership.
Observers are of the view that Janu’s decision to join the NDA is a shot in the arm for the Kerala BJP which is currently on a mission to broaden its base in the State. “Adivasis here are not a huge force but it will be a great socio-political victory for the BJP if it wins their confidence,” said the chief of a Wayanad-based NGO working for tribal rights.
Janu said the party she was going to float would enter into cooperation with the NDA on the basis of a common minimum programme and added that she did not share the politics of the BJP. At the same time, intense protests have come up from within the Gothra Maha Sabha against her plans to join the BJP-led NDA.
Maha Sabha convener M Geethanandan, Janu’s closest companion in the fight for Adivasi rights from the days of the Muthanga agitation, said he still did not want to believe reports on her joining the NDA. Geethanandan said on Wednesday that the Maha Sabha would have to take action against her if she joined the BJP-led alliance.