KOZHIKODE: The CPM is all set to launch a Kannada daily, Tulunadu Times, targeting Kannadigas who form 30 per cent of the population of Kasaragod taluk.
LDF district convener P. Raghavan is the printer and publisher of the evening daily. Sources said general secretary Sitaram Yechury would launch its publication on August 15.
The provocation was that the majority of the Kannada publications in the area are run by pro-RSS promoters from Mangalore and they give little space for the Left.
“It will not be a party mouthpiece. The newspaper will give space to every section while upholding the Left ideology,” said C. H. Kunhambu, the former Manjeshwaram MLA and prominent CPM leader in the Kannada belt.
The CPM wants to restrain the BJP from occupying the second position in vote share in the northern Assembly constituencies of Kasaragod, Manjeshwaram since 1960s relegating it mostly to a third.
It was only in 2006, a CPM candidate - Mr Kunhambu - won from Manjeshwaram and in Kasaragod, the party has not succeeded so far though its allies had won both the seats earlier.
“Organisationally, parts of Kerala beyond Chandragiri River comes under the Mangalore wing of the RSS. So a fierce political activity tapping the linguistic, religious, cultural sentiments is rampant. To counter this, we have to develop a multi-pronged strategy in Tulu region,” said a party source.
The CPM assessment is that the Kerala Tulu Sahitya Academy, started by previous LDF government, has set a successful example in projecting the party’s image in the region. Kasaragod district panchayat member M. Shankar Rai is being considered for the post of the daily’s editor.
