Kannur: LDF convener E P Jayarajan has filed a defamation suit against BJP's state vice president, Sobha Surendran.

The BJP leader had triggered a row during the Lok Sabha Elections when she claimed that Jayarajan came close to joining her party. The allegation came after Jayarajan had put his party CPM on the back foot by meeting BJP national leader Prakash Javadekar.

Jayarajan has filed the case with the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kannur. The CPM leader has referred to media reports published on April 26 and interviews Surendran gave two days later.

Surendran, who contested the General Elections from the Alappuzha constituency, made a strange remark on the voting day of April 26. She claimed that Jayarajan approached her with self-styled power broker T G Nandakumar alias 'Dallal' Nandakumar, expressing his intention to join the BJP.

Jayarajan, who Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan publicly criticised for meeting with Javadekar, said Surendran's comments damaged his reputation.