THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rumours are getting strong that a section of Congress leaders in Kerala will join the BJP on Thursday. BJP state president K Surendran had said that everyone should wait till 11 am on Thursday to get a clear picture. Leaders who are at loggerheads with the Congress leadership are likely to join the BJP, sources said.

Leaders, including a former minister who handled an important portfolio in the 2011-16 Oommen Chandy government, are set to join the BJP. If the Congress leader, who is a former minister, reaches the BJP camp, the BJP is likely to field him in Kollam as a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections.

As the rumour that the former minister will join the BJP is getting stronger, the Congress leadership has started making efforts to persuade him not to leave the party. However, it is reported that the former minister is not even ready to discuss this matter with the Congress leadership.

According to sources, apart from the former minister, two former MLAs are also likely to leave the Congress and join the BJP. The Congress leadership has held talks with them and made efforts to discourage them. The BJP is now carrying out an operation in Kerala that is similar to the ones that it carried out in North India and other states which led to the downfall of the Congress there.

It is the central leadership of the BJP that is devising plans to attract the Congress leaders in Kerala. With the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, the new developments will be a huge blow for the Congress.