Former firebrand leader of Kerala BJP Sandeep Warrier, who recently defected to Congress, has stated that state BJP president K Surendran is responsible for the current state of the party in the state. “As a president, he has been a total failure, be it solving his (Sandeep’s) issue, or forging unity within the party, he said.

In an interview with a national English daily, published on Sunday, Sandeep Warrier said that the BJP central leadership is not keen on political gains in Kerala. He added that it would be content if the CPI-M curbs Congress’s strength and gives some political space to the BJP.

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He alleged that people within the BJP ecosystem are arrogant, and anyone who observes BJP state president Surendran’s interactions with the media will notice his contempt and arrogance.

“The people within the BJP ecosystem are arrogant. If you observe Surendran’s interactions with the media, you will notice his contempt and arrogance. I dislike their language and behaviour. I needed a change from that environment,” he said.

When asked how state BJP president Surendran remains in his position despite humiliating defeats in elections, Sandeep said it is due to his opponents within the party. “Surendran remains as state president because of opponents like PK Krishnadas and MT Ramesh. They use ‘abstaining from party meetings’ as a weapon to oppose the leadership. PK Krishnadas, MT Ramesh, and AN Radhakrishnan abstained from the last day’s leadership meeting. They lack the ability and strategy to criticise the leadership while attending party meetings. This strategy has become convenient for Surendran,” he said. The current BJP leadership does not allow the new generation to grow within the party, he added.

Sandeep Warrier said the BJP national leadership is not serious about Kerala. “If the BJP were serious, would the leadership have chosen a candidate like C Krishnakumar to contest from Palakkad? They are not serious. If they were, they would have fielded popular leaders like Sobha Surendran in Palakkad. Have you seen any other party where leaders misappropriate election funds?” he said.

He said that BJP Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar has no clue about the politics in Kerala. “He was given political retirement and sent to Kerala to eat chips and stay at five-star hotels. Surendran doesn’t even attend Javadekar’s phone calls,” Sandeep said.

Alleging that there is a political adjustment between the BJP and the CPI-M in Kerala, Sandeep said, “Everyone knows that there is a political adjustment between the BJP and the CPI-M in Kerala. Why has the SNC Lavalin case been adjourned 34 times? What happened to the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank scam?”

To a query whether he believes that the CPI-M has helped the BJP hush up the Kodakara case, Sandeep said, “That’s the popular perception. Moreover, as TV debaters, when we used to seek details to counter questions on the stalled probes against the CPI-M, the BJP leadership would ask why we were keen to help the Congress.” Is there any party in the world which robs its election fund, he asked.

When asked whether the BJP failed in utilising personalities, such as E Sreedharan, former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and former DGP Jacob Thomas, who had joined the party, he said, “I understand that they are all disappointed now. They have not been given space to work in the party. They have been treated like ‘use-and-throw’ personalities.”

He said he would never consider returning to the BJP. “My family and I experienced much relief after I joined the Congress. Even before I left the BJP, my family faced severe cyber attacks, including body shaming of my wife and targeting of my 84-year-old father. Now, we are living in peace,” he said.

He said there is no space for democratic values in the BJP and RSS. “Be it the RSS or the BJP, there is no space for democratic values. It’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ – the radio keeps playing, and we can’t say anything,” he added.

When asked why he preferred to join the Congress, even after receiving a ‘crystal clear’ certificate from the CPI-M, he said, “Such details may help make my autobiography a bestseller.”