The former “demolition man” of Delhi, Alphons Kannanthanam, who spent the last five years as Left-backed independent in the Kerala Assembly, is now warming up to the BJP.
Mr Kannanthanam, who turned down the Left Democratic Front’s offer of a seat citing his urge to “serve the poor,” had a meeting with BJP state president V. Muraleedharan last week.
Now the party’s national president Nitin Gadkari has called on the former Delhi Development Authority boss to the national capital to discuss his “developmental perspective.”
“I am looking forward to meeting Mr Gadkari,” said Mr Kannanthanam, adding, “Let’s see what he has in mind. My agenda is development and there’s no party politics involved.”
When asked about the sudden shift from the Left camp to its ideological opposite, Mr Kannanthanam said, “Even for the sake of argument, let’s concede that the BJP is communal. Accepting me — someone hugely secular — doesn’t mean that the BJP is ready to broaden its canvas, ready to change.”
But, he added, that he was yet to frame his opinion whether the BJP was communal or not.
In fact, the ex-bureaucrat has not cared much for the colour of a political dispensation.
Four years back, he went to Amethi at the invitation of Congress general secretary Mr Rahul Gandhi to look at issues of illiteracy there.
He gave his proposals and met Mr Gandhi again two years later. “But I haven’t heard from him since,” said Mr Kannanthanam.
Interestingly, Mr Kannanthanam said that he had not met Kerala chief minister V. S. Achuthanandan even once in the past five years, though he waxed eloquent on the virtues of the veteran while announcing that he would not accept the LDF offer for a seat.