KOZHIKODE: Ending months of speculation, Kerala Janata Dal (United) of MP Veerendra Kumar on Thursday decided to ditch Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) to join ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF). Rumours in political circles regarding the switch were not denied or confirmed by party supremo Veerendra Kumar, leaving both option open as the move to ditch UDF encountered stiff resistance from a host of senior leaders of the party.

A state secretariat meeting held in state capital Trivandrum decided to take the plunge, which is unlikely to trigger any political fallout. JD (U) state unit president Veerendra Kumar announced at the meeting that the party was indeed contemplating shifting of alliance at the appropriate time. An official announcement will be made by Veerendra Kumar after state council meet, which is scheduled to be held in Trivandrum on Friday.

Former minister and senior party leader KP Mohanan, who advocated continuing in the UDF, also fell in line with the majority on Thursday.

With the decision JD (U) is returning to the political front it left ahead of the 2009 parliamentary elections, after Veerendra Kumar was denied candidature from Kozhikode constituency which he held then. JD (U) then joined the UDF, which came to power in 2011. The JD (U) also received a ministerial berth in the then Oommen Chandy government.

But things turned sour after Veerendra Kumar was routed at the 2014 parliamentary elections when the 80-year-old leader lost by a massive margin to sitting CPIM Lok Sabha member MB Rajesh in Palakkad. Since then, Veerendra Kumar and his party felt that supporters of UDF especially Congress-men did not cast their votes in his favour in the elections. To keep Veerendra Kumar happy, the UDF gave him a Rajya Sabha seat later.

Last month Veerendra Kumar resigned as Member of Parliament saying that JD (U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined the BJP-led NDA and his party unit in Kerala cannot support such a move. LDF leadership especially CPIM will have to convince front ally Janata Dal (Secular) before officially admitting JD (U) into the front.