Thiruvananthapuram: The secretary of the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) in Kerala, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, on Wednesday said the Left Democratic Front was poised to topple the United Democratic Front by winning as many as 100 seats in the upcoming assembly election in May.
There are 140 seats in the state assembly.
“The present government in Kerala is one that has literally crawled along for five years. The people know that there is no point in keeping such a government. Kerala will witness a repeat of the 2006 election,” Balakrishnan said.
“On that occasion, the LDF won 96 seats, but this time it is going to hit three figures”, he said.
Balakrishnan’s remarks follow a Times Now-C Voter survey showing the LDF may win 86 seats in the state assembly.
The LDF has had a head start to the campaigning this time, with its candidate list ready and the front poised to publish its election manifesto.
It is likely that the LDF manifesto would speak about introducing policies to control liquor consumption rather than the total prohibition that the present government is aiming at in a phased manner.
Balakrishnan also took a potshot at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying it was a party which could not win in any seat in Kerala on its own. This time the BJP has fielded a potpourri of candidates ranging from the octogenarian leader and party veteran O. Rajagopal, to cricketer S. Sreesanth. The party is yet to open its account in assembly elections in the state.
While the LDF is discussing finalisation of its election manifesto, the Congress is grappling with the fallout of bitter disagreements among top leaders while finalising the candidates’ list. While chief minister Oommen Chandy had his way in protecting all his ministers by ensuring that they got tickets to contest, one of his close aides, Benny Behanan was denied a ticket.
In a fresh irritation for the Congress, former MLA, Shobhana George who was denied a ticket this time, announced that she would contest as an independent candidate from Chengannur constituency. “I cannot continue in a party that has no regard for me”, she said while announcing her plan to contest as an independent.
