Allegations of horse-trading have shaken Kerala’s ruling Left Front, with NCP MLA Thomas K Thomas accused of offering Rs 100 crore to two MLAs to persuade them to join the NCP Ajith Pawar group.
Reports indicate that Left MLA and former minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet, Antony Raju, alleged that NCP’s Thomas K Thomas had offered him and another Left MLA, Kovoor Kunjumon, Rs 100 crore (Rs 50 crore each) to defect to the NCP Ajith Pawar faction, an ally of the BJP.
Antony Raju represents the Janathipathya Kerala Congress, while Kunjumon belongs to the RSP-Leninist, both allies of the Left Front.
Antony Raju reportedly informed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of the alleged offer in early October. Following this, the CM approached RSP (Leninist) legislator Kovoor Kunjumon to verify the claim, which Kunjumon denied, allegedly calling Antony Raju’s statements false.
The NCP leadership, including state chief PC Chacko, Thomas K Thomas, and party minister AK Saseendran, later met with the CM to deny the accusations. Thomas K Thomas also submitted a written response, calling for an investigation into the incident.
Reports on Friday suggested that Chief Minister Vijayan shared details of the alleged offer by Thomas at a recent CPI-M state committee meeting. During this meeting, the CM reportedly stated that Thomas K Thomas had been denied a ministerial position due to concerns over attempts to lure MLAs into defecting.
On Friday, Thomas K Thomas, representing the Left-allied NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), denied allegations that he had offered Rs 50 crore each to Antony Raju and Kovoor Kunjumon to defect from the Left.
Speaking to the media in Alappuzha, Thomas claimed that the accusations were false and orchestrated by Antony Raju.
Thomas alleged that Raju previously expressed doubts about his ministerial ambitions and was “planting a torpedo” to sabotage him. He questioned the timing of the allegations, noting that they emerged amid speculation about his potential appointment as a minister.
Expressing confidence in the Chief Minister’s support, Thomas claimed that the CM himself had informed PC Chacko of the situation. Thomas reiterated his loyalty to Sharad Pawar and suggested that the allegations were part of Raju’s strategy to secure the Kuttanad seat, calling it Raju’s “torpedo.”
He dismissed the idea that he would benefit from offering money to two MLAs, urging the government to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations.
On Friday, Kovoor Kunjumon reiterated his rejection of the accusations, while Antony Raju maintained that such an offer had indeed been made.