JD-S on verge of split

The Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) led by former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda appeared to be on the verge of a split as its national executive Saturday rejected Kerala unit president M.P. Veerendrakumar's demand and decided to continue the party's alliance with the ruling Left.

"The meeting has directed party legislators to sit with the LDF (Left Democratic Front) block in the Kerala assembly," Deve Gowda told reporters after the national executive meeting here.

Rejecting Veerendrakumar's move to go with the state's opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), Deve Gowda said: "Keeping equal distance with the Congress and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is the official line of the party."

The national executive also endorsed the national leadership's June 19 decision to suspend the party's Kerala unit secretary general K. Krishnankutty, who had criticised Deve Gowda.

Krishnankutty, a strong supporter of Veerendrakumar, had questioned the national leadership's decision to suspend him saying that Deve Gowda had no right to take action against him. "As per the constitution, only state president can take action," he said.

Meanwhile, Veerendrakumar said he would take a stand on the issue only after the party state committee meeting July 12.

The JD-S is a divided house in Kerala with a major section of the party, led by Veerendrakumar, openly working against the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which leads the ruling LDF, during the Lok Sabha polls.

Veerendrakumar, who represented Kozhikode in the previous Lok Sabha, was upset over the CPI-M's decision to field its own candidate in the constituency in the April-May polls.

Last updated on Jul 4^th, 2009 at 18:32 pm IST--IANS