MUNNAR: As the question of joining BJP rages on, former Devikulam MLA S Rajendran has made it clear that he will not renew his CPM membership. The reaction came when the leaders brought the application form to renew Rajendran's party membership to his house.

CPM Munnar area secretary KK Vijayan, district committee members M Lakshmanan and R Iswaran visited Rajendran's house in Ikka Nagar on Saturday evening and submitted the form. This was as per the instructions of the district committee. However, Rajendran said that he did not want to renew the membership and that he had not received justice. "I decided not to renew my membership because of the emotional distress I experienced. It does not mean I am going to join BJP. One can't trust them because after the election they may ignore you. The fact that I tried to defeat A Raja is fabricated. I can't work with cheaters. District Secretariat member KV Shashi wants me not to continue in CPM,' he said.

BJP's national leader from Chennai and local leaders met Rajendran at his house in Ikka Nagar last month and had a discussion. After this, state leader PK Krishnadas also spoke to him on the phone. BJP's target is votes in Tamil areas in the plantation region of Munnar where Rajendran has influence. Party positions were also promised for this. The party had suspended Rajendran from primary membership for a year on allegations that he had tried to defeat CPM candidate A Raja from the Devikulam constituency in last assembly elections. The suspension period ended in January 2023 but no action was taken to lift the suspension. Then in January, CPM state secretary MV Govindan followed by district secretary CV Varghese met and spoke to Rajendran, but there was no solution.

CPM leader S Rajendran first entered the Legislative Assembly in 2006 by defeating Congress leader AK Mani who had monopolized the Devikulam constituency since 1991. Success was repeated in 2011 and 2016. S Rajendran was denied seat in 2021.