Hindu Ezhava leader Vellapalli Natesan's Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the coming assembly elections in Kerala.
Union minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, in charge of the BJP's election campaign in Kerala, announced the BDJS entry into the NDA fold in the presence of BDJS president Tushar Vellapally, who is Natesan's son, at a press conference here.
"To bring changes in the Kerala politics, the BDJS has joined the NDA unconditionally. We expect more nationalist forces will join us in the future," Nadda said.
Natesan, who was holding talks with the BJP before and after the formation of his BDJS, on February 17 said no party was a political untouchable for him ahead of the Kerala assembly elections.
However, his overtures failed to win him potential allies, except for the BJP.
Natesan, the general secretary of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, a social movement that propagates the values of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, floated the new political party in December 2015.
Hindus account for 1.82 crore of the 3.34-crore population of Kerala, of which Ezhavas are a majority community.