‘Pinarayi Govt will return to power with a small majority; I don’t want UDF to come to power’

ALAPPUZHA: SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan said that even with a narrow majority, the LDF led by Pinarayi Vijayan will come back to power, adding that exit poll results are not always accurate. He also noted that this might simply be his personal wish. The Left Front has done a lot of good work. My assessment is that the LDF will return, even if with a small majority. Leaders of the Muslim League are saying that V D Satheesan should become the chief minister. The League should not be making such statements, he said.

‘I don’t want the UDF coming to power, and so not commenting who should be the chief minister. I want Pinarayi Vijayan to return. He is a clean person, but the issue is with the chief minister’s office--it is not functioning properly. The chief minister is unaware of many things. Candidate selection by the LDF, including in Alappuzha, went wrong, and I was disappointed. The UDF aggressively pushed through its candidate selection.

If the UDF comes to power, the League will dominate. It is for the Congress to decide who should be the chief minister, not the League. This shows what will happen if the UDF comes to power. Marad-like incidents could repeat. Even if the League’s chief minister comes, it wouldn’t be surprising. In the end, they will demand the deputy chief minister’s post. Other UDF allies simply follow their lead. If the Left loses, it means democracy loses, and communal dominance will prevail. In the Congress, leaders are performing rituals and offerings in the race for the chief minister’s post. What would be the situation if they come to power? K C Venugopal, V D Satheesan, and Ramesh Chennithala are all moving around in excitement, he said.

He also pointed out shortcomings in the CPM’s election campaign. They fell asleep after being in power for ten years. Grassroots LDF workers were not active in the election. The LDF did not get minority votes as expected. The BJP performed well. The leadership of Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been effective, and the party may increase its vote share. The votes captured by the BJP will hurt both fronts. This is Kerala, not Pakistan. The League treats those who do not stand with it as enemies. When I stood with them, they celebrated me; when I didn’t, they even burned my effigy. Criticizing the League is portrayed as criticizing the Muslim community. Malappuram is not the League’s territory, but political parties lack the courage to say that,’ clarified Vellappally.