Senior BJP leaders upset over Sobha's 'unverified' claims

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Discontent is brewing in BJP over state vice-president Sobha Surendran's repeated claims about her abortive attempts to woo LDF convener EP Jayarajan to BJP. Though the controversy dented CPM's image at the outset, senior leaders felt that her claims to wriggle out of the personal allegations against her will affect BJP's credibility in the long run than CPM.
Sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought a clarification from various leaders -including Prakash Javadekar who allegedly visited the LDF convener at his son's apartment - about the controversy. They said he is unhappy over the way events unfolded.
"Central leadership has taken the issue seriously as it will hamper BJP's attempts to woo leaders from LDF and UDF in future. It's an issue of trust. It's unfair to disclose the details of such abortive meetings, if any. Moreover, she made such claims without consulting the state or central leadership," said a senior BJP functionary, adding that this should be seen in the background that central leaders always wanted party functionaries to keep political manoeuvring a top secret.
BJP leaders will meet here on May 7 to evaluate election performance. One of the key issues that will be discussed is the controversy over Sobha's links with controversial 'dalal" TG Nandakumar and his claims that she had taken Rs 10 lakh promising a piece of land, the ownership of which is also under question, and duping him later. Sobha was trying to save face by disclosing a series of alleged meetings she had with Jayarajan. She was not serving the political interest of BJP, said a BJP state committee member.
Those upset over the controversy said that Sobha's 'unverified' claims would once again defeat BJP's deliberate efforts to gain political legitimacy in Kerala. "The basic motive behind wooing leaders from other parties is to improve the political acceptability of the party that is still struggling to gain a foothold in Kerala's political scene. There was a time when CPM and BJP leaders would not mingle even at social gatherings. It has changed a lot in recent years. Irrespective of the truth behind Sobha's claims, it would once again fan the political untouchability towards BJP," said a senior leader, adding that Sobha will have to give convincing reasons for her mindless statements at various party forums.