THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the election battle is getting more intense, the BJP suffered an unexpected setback when the nomination papers filed by its candidates in Thalassery, Guruvayur and Devikulam were rejected by the polling officers. The situation was further aggravated when the CPM and Congress came to the fore accusing each other of vote-rigging. With the BJP
announcing that it will approach the Supreme Court against the rejection of the papers, the way has been paved for a legal battle.

BJP, which secured more than 22,000 votes in Thalassery and more than 25,000 votes in Guruvayur in the last elections, now do not have any candidates in the two constituencies. In Thalassery, the rejection of BJP Kannur district president Haridas' nomination paper came as a shock. In Devikulam, the BJP has decided to support the independent candidate after the nomination paper of its ally ADMK candidate got rejected.

While CPM accuses BJP of trading its votes to Congress in Thalassery, Congress has alleged that the nomination were rejected as part of the CPM-BJP deal. Meanwhile, BJP state president K Surendran alleged that the rejection of nomination papers was politically motivated and that the returning officers were pressurised by the CPM.

On the other hand, the revolt in the Congress over the handing over of the Elathur seat to the NCK of Mani C. Kappan, a constituent party, has escalated into a scuffle between activists. Although KPCC working president KV Thomas came for a compromise meeting yesterday, the attempt failed when MK Raghavan MP walked out of the meeting. KPCC executive committee member Dinesh
Mani will be contesting in Elathur as a rebel candidate. Sulfikar Mayoori of the NCK is the official candidate here.

Apart from Lathika Subhash, a Youth Congress activist from Harippad will also contest as a rebel candidate from Ettumanoor. Prince Lukose of the Kerala Congress is the official candidate in Ettumanoor. The Congress is continuing its efforts for a temporary ceasefire in Irikkur.

Despite gaining the upper hand in the election campaign, the Sabarimala riots continue to be a headache for the Left Front. There is a strong feeling within the CPM that minister Kadakampally Surendran's regret had opened the door to controversy. When the UDF and the BJP intensified their attack against the government, the NSS too joined to put the government on the defensive. Interestingly, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, during a recent interview, said that he did not know why Kadakampally expressed regret over the Sabarimala issue.

Without hurting the NSS

CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran had earlier said that the NSS had failed to get a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court in the Sabarimala case after which they were trying to put the blame on the government. Following this, the NSS had organised a march on Friday to protest against Kanam's statement. However, the CPM is careful not to provoke the NSS. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said in a conciliatory tone that the NSS was not an opportunist on the Sabarimala issue and that they had been on the same page from the beginning and that there was nothing wrong with it.