THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Recent reports claim that a section of Congress workers is not happy with the UDF completely ignoring backward communities, including the Ezhavas, in its selection of candidates for the upcoming local body elections.

It is alleged that the party leadership's disregard for the backward communities at the organizational level and in candidate selection has violated all boundaries in the local elections. A large section of the party's backward leaders and activists are preparing to stage public protests if the leadership does not find a solution to this injustice and bias.

Congress will be contesting in 17,000 seats out of the 22,000 seats in the state's 1200 local bodies. Of these, less than 600 candidates belong to the Ezhava community while Vishwakarmajar community has below fifty candidates. There are hardly any candidates from other backward communities. Ezhava representation in the UDF list is zero in about 400 of the 941 gram panchayats in the state. It is less than five percent in most block, district panchayats, municipalities and corporations.

While backward communities are largely ignored in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Idukki, Wayanad, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kasargod districts, they got decent consideration in Kollam and Kannur districts. There is no candidate from the backward communities in the UDF list in Ernakulam district panchayat. Meanwhile, workers from backward communities were considered for 4 seats in Kozhikode Corporation.