By IANS,
New Delhi : All the five legislators and one parliamentarian from the Kerala unit of Janata Dal (Secular) have joined the Samajwadi Party (SP), its national general secretary Amar Singh said Tuesday.
“All the five legislators of JD(S), one of whom was a minister in the Kerala government, have resigned and joined the Samajwadi Party,” Singh said. “We have discussed this new development with our Left partners and all these five lawmakers will now join the cabinet in Kerala,” he added.
The lone JD(S) MP from Kerala, Virendra Kumar, has joined the Samajwadi Party, Amar Singh said.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leads the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala. The Left parties and the Samajwadi Party have explored possibilities of a Third Front in the past with other like-minded parties.
“With this merger, the Samajwadi Party has a presence in the assemblies of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and now Kerala,” said Singh.
“Our party has agreed with the Left parties on issues like rising inflation, the civilian Indo-US nuclear deal and other issues, except the Women’s Reservation Bill,” he said.
This will be the first time that Samajwadi Party members will be part of a Left government in Kerala.