Thiruvananthapuram: In a significant political development ahead of the elections, Varkala block panchayat member and CPM leader advocate Smitha Sundaresan joined BJP. Smitha was formally welcomed to the party by BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and state prabhari Prakash Javadekar at a function held on Sunday. Her entry is seen as a setback to the CPM in the Varkala region where she was an active leader and a former area committee member. According to the latest reports, Smitha will be fielded as the NDA candidate from Varkala assembly constituency. BJP is expected to contest the seat after taking it over from its ally BDJS as part of seat-sharing arrangements. A former president of the Varkala block panchayat and currently a member, Smitha is the daughter of late Sundaresan, a prominent political figure in Thiruvananthapuram. Explaining her decision, Smitha alleged that the CPM was facing a decline in values and accused the party of promoting favouritism and ignoring organisational principles. She said the development initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspired her to join BJP.Her move is expected to intensify the political competition in the Varkala constituency, with parties gearing up for a closely watched electoral battle.
