BJP leader Javadekar calls on Vellappally

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and the party’s Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar on Sunday visited Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan here.

The meeting assumes significance as political parties are stepping up their activities ahead of the Assembly election scheduled for this year.

Mr. Javadekar, along with BJP leader Sandeep Vachaspati, reached Mr. Natesan’s residence here around 11.30 a.m. They were received by Mr. Natesan and discussions were held.

While the BJP described the meeting as a friendly visit, it comes amid perceptions of Mr. Natesan having recently moved closer to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

“I am always happy to meet Natesan ji. We share a bond,” Mr. Javadekar told reporters. He said he had been inspired by Mr. Natesan’s activities through the SNDP from a young age.

“We have always had good and pleasant discussions. Therefore, there is nothing political in it, practically,” he said.

Mr. Javadekar said the party’s victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is an ‘Ahmedabad moment’ for the BJP in Kerala. “In Gujarat, our party struggled for many years. In 1987, we won the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, when Modiji was also actively involved in the election campaign,” he said. Mr. Natesan’s recent remarks about the SNDP not being permitted to start an educational institution in the Muslim-dominated Malappuram district, along with his comment describing a reporter as an “extremist,” had drawn sharp criticism.

Though UDF leaders strongly reacted to the remarks, neither the CPI(M) nor the BJP has condemned them. Mr. Natesan’s son, Thushar Vellappally is the national president of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally.