The CPI(M)-led LDF will not repeat the mistake of hugging Madani in public this time as The congress-led udf readies for the battle for three assembly constituencies in kerala, says Anu Warrier
During the last Lok Sabha polls, a CPI(M) Politburo member
from Kerala was sad that the state had only 20 constituencies. As the results came out, he boarded himself up inside Delhi’s AKG Bhavan. Party committees blamed chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s remarks, his studied silence on controversial issues and the LDF’s relationship with Abdul Nasser Madani’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the loss of 16 seats. Now, the party faces yet another litmus test. The three Assembly seats, which fell vacant after the representatives got elected to the Lok Sabha, go to polls on November 7.
As usual, the fight is between the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF. Unlike the parliamentary elections, this time both fronts are reluctant to claim victory. The constituencies as well as the warring fronts themselves have been in considerable flux.
In an attempt to come clean in front of the voters, the LDF has made sure that CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan does not hug Madani this time. Vijayan had supported Madani, who was in jail for nine years as an accused in Coimbatore blast case, against all odds in the Lok Sabha polls. He had even challenged the CPI, another key LDF constituent, to protect the interests of the PDP chairman on Ponnani seat. Now he keeps mum on his party’s relationship with PDP. To add to that, Madani has fielded his candidate against G. Krishnaprasad, the CPI nominee in Alappuzha. But in Ernakulam and Kannur, where CPI(M) candidates are in the fray, PDP has offered support to the LDF. However, the CPI(M) leadership has assured other LDF constituents that the front will not share dais with any party that is not a part of the front.
Another major change has been chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s ouster from the party’s supreme committee over charges of factionalism. Achuthanandan, who was always vocal in criticising the official faction of the party, is virtually silent after the Politburo action against him. He even inaugurated the LDF poll campaign at Kannur, where his archrival and Pinarayi-confidant M.V.Jayarajan puts up a hard fight against A.P. Abdullakkutty, the former CPI(M) MP who changed sides after getting booted out from the party just before the Lok Sabha polls. The UDF has another advantage in Kannur. The Janata Dal (S) faction, led by M.P. Veerendra Kumar, has officially joined the UDF. Moreover, there is no history of an LDF candidate winning the Kannur Assembly seat.
The bypolls in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kannur have become a trial of strength for both the fronts. The seats, held by UDF, fell vacant after the representatives were elected to the Lok Sabha and the LDF has made this an issue for campaign. The UDF wants to prove that the victory in the parliamentary election was not a fluke. The LDF, on the other hand, is determined to wrest at least one seat this time to show that the Lok Sabha poll result was just a one-time occurrence.
During the last Lok Sabha polls, a CPI(M) Politburo member
from Kerala was sad that the state had only 20 constituencies. As the results came out, he boarded himself up inside Delhi’s AKG Bhavan. Party committees blamed chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s remarks, his studied silence on controversial issues and the LDF’s relationship with Abdul Nasser Madani’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the loss of 16 seats. Now, the party faces yet another litmus test. The three Assembly seats, which fell vacant after the representatives got elected to the Lok Sabha, go to polls on November 7.As usual, the fight is between the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF. Unlike the parliamentary elections, this time both fronts are reluctant to claim victory. The constituencies as well as the warring fronts themselves have been in considerable flux.
In an attempt to come clean in front of the voters, the LDF has made sure that CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan does not hug Madani this time. Vijayan had supported Madani, who was in jail for nine years as an accused in Coimbatore blast case, against all odds in the Lok Sabha polls. He had even challenged the CPI, another key LDF constituent, to protect the interests of the PDP chairman on Ponnani seat. Now he keeps mum on his party’s relationship with PDP. To add to that, Madani has fielded his candidate against G. Krishnaprasad, the CPI nominee in Alappuzha. But in Ernakulam and Kannur, where CPI(M) candidates are in the fray, PDP has offered support to the LDF. However, the CPI(M) leadership has assured other LDF constituents that the front will not share dais with any party that is not a part of the front.
Another major change has been chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s ouster from the party’s supreme committee over charges of factionalism. Achuthanandan, who was always vocal in criticising the official faction of the party, is virtually silent after the Politburo action against him. He even inaugurated the LDF poll campaign at Kannur, where his archrival and Pinarayi-confidant M.V.Jayarajan puts up a hard fight against A.P. Abdullakkutty, the former CPI(M) MP who changed sides after getting booted out from the party just before the Lok Sabha polls. The UDF has another advantage in Kannur. The Janata Dal (S) faction, led by M.P. Veerendra Kumar, has officially joined the UDF. Moreover, there is no history of an LDF candidate winning the Kannur Assembly seat.
The bypolls in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kannur have become a trial of strength for both the fronts. The seats, held by UDF, fell vacant after the representatives were elected to the Lok Sabha and the LDF has made this an issue for campaign. The UDF wants to prove that the victory in the parliamentary election was not a fluke. The LDF, on the other hand, is determined to wrest at least one seat this time to show that the Lok Sabha poll result was just a one-time occurrence.
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