"Pinarayi Sir is the person who paved my entry into politics and gave me an MLA seat. I share a personal bond with him and I am glad he called on me for this friendly meeting," said Alphons Kannanthanam, the newly inducted minister.
On Sunday, the former IAS officer was sworn in as the Minister of State for Tourism, Electronics and Information Technology. When he spoke about the cordial relationship he shares with the Kerala CM outside Kerala House in New Delhi, there was hardly any indication that he had, in fact, shifted his loyalties to the BJP after entering politics with the support of Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Standing beside Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan outside Kerala House in New Delhi, the new Tourism Minister spoke about the cordial relationship that the duo share.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan met Kannanthanam on Wednesday, three days after he was elevated to Minister for Tourism by the NDA government.
"We got together this afternoon to share the happiness of him becoming a minister. That's all I want to say at this point," Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Following this, Kannanthanam spoke about the support he has received from Pinarayi Vijayan.
"As soon as I became a minister, Pinarayi Sir took to Facebook to share a lovely message for me. I thank his good heart for sharing this friendship with me. I am confident that the Centre and Kerala can work together in many matters. This friendly visit is the beginning of that," Kannanthanam said.
On Sunday, when Alphons Kannanthanam was made minister, Pinarayi Vijayan said that the good news was an Onam gift for the former.
"This is like an Onam gift for him and I hope he will work towards the betterment of the state of Kerala. I wish him good luck to also be the voice of Kerala in the cabinet. Parallel efforts from both Centre & state will certainly ensure successful development of Kerala. Hope Shri Alphons Kannanthanam will work for the same," Pinarayi had said in a Facebook post congratulating him.