<p>Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala unit of the Janata Dal (Secular) has decided to completely sever ties with its national leadership, led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, which is allied with the BJP, and will merge with a new political party.</p>.<p>An official announcement in this regard will be made on Wednesday, a source told <em>PTI</em>.</p>.<p>The source claimed that the party's MLAs will not face the threat of disqualification, as the Kerala unit will merge with a party that is already registered with the Election Commission of India.</p>.<p>As per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, such a merger would protect the MLAs from disqualification, the source said.</p>.<p>Under the Tenth Schedule, protection from disqualification applies only if at least two-thirds of the MLAs of a legislature party agree to merge with another party.</p>.Congress targets 100 seats in Kerala, calls for unity ahead of polls.<p>At present, the JD(S) has two MLAs in the state -- Mathew T Thomas from Thiruvalla and state Power Minister K Krishnankutty from Chittur.</p>.<p>The move comes as the state heads towards Assembly polls expected by April this year.</p>.<p>The state leadership believes that this will put an end to allegations by the Congress-led UDF that a party which is part of the BJP-led NDA at the national level has representatives in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala.</p>.<p>The political crisis began after the JD(S) joined the BJP-led alliance during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.</p>.<p>The state unit, which is aligned with the CPI(M)-led LDF, came under severe opposition attack after H D Kumaraswamy became a Cabinet Minister in the NDA government at the Centre.</p>
<p>Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala unit of the Janata Dal (Secular) has decided to completely sever ties with its national leadership, led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, which is allied with the BJP, and will merge with a new political party.</p>.<p>An official announcement in this regard will be made on Wednesday, a source told <em>PTI</em>.</p>.<p>The source claimed that the party's MLAs will not face the threat of disqualification, as the Kerala unit will merge with a party that is already registered with the Election Commission of India.</p>.<p>As per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, such a merger would protect the MLAs from disqualification, the source said.</p>.<p>Under the Tenth Schedule, protection from disqualification applies only if at least two-thirds of the MLAs of a legislature party agree to merge with another party.</p>.Congress targets 100 seats in Kerala, calls for unity ahead of polls.<p>At present, the JD(S) has two MLAs in the state -- Mathew T Thomas from Thiruvalla and state Power Minister K Krishnankutty from Chittur.</p>.<p>The move comes as the state heads towards Assembly polls expected by April this year.</p>.<p>The state leadership believes that this will put an end to allegations by the Congress-led UDF that a party which is part of the BJP-led NDA at the national level has representatives in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala.</p>.<p>The political crisis began after the JD(S) joined the BJP-led alliance during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.</p>.<p>The state unit, which is aligned with the CPI(M)-led LDF, came under severe opposition attack after H D Kumaraswamy became a Cabinet Minister in the NDA government at the Centre.</p>