THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the UDF deciding to use the Sabarimala women entry issue and backdoor appointment controversy as its main weapons against the government, the Assembly election campaign got heated from the very beginning.

The recent developments regarding the backdoor appointment controversy have put the government on the defensive.

Two jobseekers, demanding extension of LGS rank list, attempted to commit suicide in front of the secretariat building on Monday. The UDF and its student and youth organizations have strengthened their accusations that the government is regularising a large number of temporary employees. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has accused the LDF government of regularising three lakh people in five years and announced that if the UDF comes to power, it will enact legislation to curb illegal recruitment. While the UDF sees the issue of unemployment as the best tool to attract the youth, the controversy over the appointment of relatives of party leaders has put the CPM on the defensive.

To counter the criticism, the CPM and the government have highlighted the five-year list of appointments and the six-month extension of the LD clerk rank list, which affected a large number of people. It also describes the interventions made to create jobs other than through PSC, including in the IT sector. While this government has given appointment or recommendation for appointment to 1,55,544 people through PSC, the government estimates that 1,50,355 people were given appointment during the previous government. While PSC published 3113 rank lists during the term of the previous government, 4012 rank lists were published during this government. At the same time, the CPM is worried about the extent to which the government's claim will be accepted by the public.