THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Reports said the chief minister was not willing to include NCP (Sharad Pawar) MLA Thomas K Thomas in the cabinet based on the complaint that he had offered money to defect LDF MLAs. The complaint is that Thomas K Thomas made a move to defect two MLAs by offering Rs 50 crore. The chief minister reported this charge in the CPM state secretariat. However, Thomas K Thomas handed over a letter to the chief minister denying the allegation.

The complaint the chief minister received said Thomas K Thomas offered Rs 50 crore each to MLAs Antony Raju (Democratic Kerala Congress) and Kovoor Kunjumon (RSP-Leninist). They were invited to join BJP's ally NCP. When Pinarayi called Antony Raju and inquired about it, he confirmed it. However, Kunjumon's reply was that he doesn’t remember.

The chief minister got the information that during the previous assembly session, they were invited to the MLAs lobby and offered money. Thomas K Thomas was disappointed after NCP's state and national leaderships turned their backs on the moves to enter the cabinet. It was during this time that the defection was done. Antony Raju told the chief minister that Ajit Pawar came to Kerala with 250 crores and Thomas K Thomas told him that if he joins that party, he will get 50 crores each. However, Antony Raju informed that he is a part of LDF and will not leave his party.

It is assessed that this promise was part of Ajit Pawar's move to acquire the name and symbol by bagging the MLAs following the split in the NCP. The move to bag LDF MLAs and try to make them part of the BJP angered the chief minister. Later, when rejecting NCP's demand to replace A K Saseendran with Thomas K Thomas as minister, hinted the reason for it. However, it is reported that Thomas explained to Sharad Pawar that this allegation is baseless.