PC George joins BJP, merges his Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) with the saffron party

George, his son Shaun, and other Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) leaders joined the BJP in the presence of Prakash Javadekar and other leaders.

BySouth First Desk

Published Jan 31, 2024 | 7:19 PM ⚊UpdatedJan 31, 2024 | 7:19 PM

PC George at his home. (Facebook/PC George)

PC George at his home. (Facebook/PC George)

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) chief PC George merged his party with the BJP on Wednesday, 31 January.

George, along with his son Shaun and other Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) leaders, joined the BJP in New Delhi in the presence of Prakash Javadekar, the saffron party’s in-charge for political affairs in Kerala, and other senior leaders.

“Today, Kerala Janapaksham (Secular), led by PC George, is merging with the BJP, showing full confidence in our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s vision to transform India into ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047,” BJP national secretary Anil Antony said at a press conference at the party headquarters.

Welcoming George into the BJP fold, Antony said, “The merging of Janapaksham today will be the start of a historic trajectory in Kerala where the BJP will grow more and more, and contribute towards the prime minister’s mission to transform India into a developed country.”

Also Read: PC George hints at merging his Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) party with BJP

Taking to X, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics and Information Technology and Jal Shakti of India, welcomed the seven-time MLA and “one of the tallest leaders of Kerala” to the BJP.

He stated, “There is growing awareness among the people of Kerala that the Left and INDI Alliance have let them down.”

He added, “Young Indians, women, poor, and our farmer brothers and sisters want a bright future for themselves, and therefore they want the BJP to represent them in the Parliament.”

Speaking to reporters in Kottayam, George had earlier said that the “general sentiments” of his party workers are in favour of joining the BJP and that a decision in this regard will be made before the Lok Sabha polls.

If such a decision is taken, it won’t be a merger “as ours is a very small party and it would be like a small stream joining a river,” he said on Tuesday.

George, who earlier represented Poonjar seat in the Kerala Assembly for more than 30 years, praised Narendra Modi’s leadership and said that India has never had such an accomplished Prime Minister and that the opinion among party ranks is to support him.

When asked whether he would contest the Lok Sabha polls if he joined the BJP, he said, “If the BJP asks me to contest, I will; if not, I won’t.”

Also Read: ‘Hate-spewing’, ‘foul-mouthed’, and now rape-accused: The curious case of PC George

PC George through the years

George is a seasoned politician with a long history of taking turns to support communal organisations representing Hindutva and political Islam apart from his Roman Catholic division of the church.

During the last Assembly election, the electorate in Poonjar did not choose the “motormouth” “lone-tusker” as their representative.

The rival LDF candidate won the seat with a thumping majority of 11,404 votes.

Poonjar is a Hindu-majority constituency, and George — the self-proclaimed Christian leader — had won the constituency thus far by ensuring the sizeable Muslim population voted for him.

However, when he used aggressive Hindutva in the last Assembly election, hoping to win the support of devout Hindus, both Hindus and Muslims turned against him. Since then, George has been attempting to be a strong proponent of aggressive Hindutva by using Islamophobia.

Earlier associated with both the ruling LDF and the Opposition UDF, George is now an arch-enemy of both political coalitions.

On numerous occasions, Dalits, tribals, and Muslims were targets of his derogatory remarks.

(With PTI inputs)

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