The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) of Kerala has replaced its convener E.P. Jayarajan in a fallout over his meeting with BJP leader Prakash Javadekar ahead of the Lok Sabha elections that created a stir in the CPM.

A central committee member of the CPM, Jayarajan was replaced with former revenue minister T.P. Ramakrishnan.

While the CPM was mum, Ramakrishnan told reporters on Saturday that the party would have to make an official announcement on the replacement. “The party secretary has to announce the reason for E.P. Jayarajan not being the LDF convener (anymore),” he said.

State CPM secretary M.V. Govindan told a media conference after the party secretariat meeting that Jayarajan’s “certain limitations and some statements during the election” had led to the decision to replace him.

“Comrade EP Jayarajan decided to vacate the post of LDF convener and Comrade T.P. Ramakrishnan has taken over from him,” Govindan initially said.

Pressed for an explanation, Govindan added that “the comrade (Jayarajan) had his limitations and some statements made during election time were discussed by
the party”.

The statements he alluded to were the ones about meeting Javadekar.

The party’s state committee meeting on Friday decided in the presence of Jayarajan, who then left for his home in Kannur and skipped the second day of the conclave on Saturday.

“I’ll call you if I have anything to say,” Jayarajan told reporters who were waiting for him at his home in Kannur when he arrived on Saturday.

The Jayarajan-Javadekar meeting had poured cold water on the LDF game plan of branding the Congress as a “soft Hindutva” party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. To make matters worse, the BJP opened its account in the state when actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi won the Thrissur constituency.

State BJP leader Shobha Surendran had even claimed that Jayarajan was on the verge of joining the BJP before he backed out.

Jayarajan had, however, played it down as a chance meeting at his son’s flat in Thiruvananthapuram and said he had not discussed politics with Javadekar. “I had to rush for a meeting. Before leaving I asked my son to offer tea (to Javadekar),” the CPM leader had said at that time.

His admission that he had not informed the party about the meeting had put the CPM in a spot since it was seen as a secret huddle with the
BJP leader.

He had created another row by declaring that the BJP would finish second in many Lok Sabha constituencies where the fight was between the CPM and the BJP in the state that had until then kept the saffron party at bay.

This triggered allegations of a secret understanding between the CPM and the BJP. Jayarajan’s ouster comes at a time the CPM is getting ready for branch-level meetings from next week. This is set to culminate in the party congress in April 2025.

Once known as a trusted aide of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Jayarajan was a minister in his cabinet.

Part of the Kannur lobby headed by Vijayan, Jayarajan was widely believed to be made the state party secretary after the passing away of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
But the mantle fell on Govindan, also part of the Kannur lobby, in October 2022. Jayarajan has since been sulking and kept away from party events attracting more criticism from the party.