THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Indicating the need for an overhaul of the UDF and even a leadership change, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has called for an in-depth analysis of the reasons for UDF's setback in the local body elections. “A ‘cosmetic change’ alone will not do,” he told reporters here on Saturday.
“The election results are a warning to the UDF which has been scripting success in all the elections since 2009. We expected to repeat the victory in this election also. The Congress and the UDF will have to make an in-depth analysis of the setback. Mere cosmetic change will not help,” he said.
When reporters asked about the need for a leadership change for the UDF, Mr Chennithala reiterated, “all matters that led to the UDF's setback need to be analysed and corrective measures taken by the UDF leadership and the Congress high command so that the UDF could win the upcoming Assembly elections.”
Admitting that the UDF leaders had claimed that the election results would be a referendum on the government, Mr. Chennithala added, “the UDF required treatment. A cosmetic change alone was not enough. It needs to reconsider its policies and even any flaws in the UDF’s candidate selection. The impact of the bar bribery case against Finance Minister K.M. Mani would also be analysed,” he said.
Even while maintaining that the BJP could prove its presence in the state with this elections, Mr Chennithala was doubtful whether it would open an account in the next Assembly elections.
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