Congress votes shifted to Left, says Oommen Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram: Outgoing Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has dismissed the reports that the Congress votes had shifted to the BJP and insisted that the shift  was to the LDF.  Mr Chandy, who submitted his resignation  to Governor P. Sathasivam on Friday, said that  many votes which should  have gone to the UDF shifted to the Left in seats where the BJP had a winning chance.  

The LDF was the beneficiary of such a shift in Nemom and Kazhakuttom, Mr Chandy said.   “In a democracy, the  people have  the last word. We will  go ahead by rectifying our defects,” Mr Chandy said. He asserted that  the people were not angry with the   UDF government. “Otherwise, how could the chief minister and 14 other minister have won the elections,” Mr Chandy said.

He had not  expected a victory for  the LDF. Communal undercurrents were  one of the reasons for the failure of the UDF, Mr Chandy claimed. “This is only a temporary phenomenon  and the Congress will come back with strength. The party and the front have the responsibility for the setback, but as UDF chairman, I have more responsibility,”  he said.

On reports that he was not willing to take up the post of Opposition Leader, he said,  “it is a matter to be discussed at the party level. I have nothing more to say.” Mr Chandy alleged that the CPM was trying to sabotage the liquor policy of the    UDF government.

The LDF did not respond to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement comparing the state with Somalia. Only the UDF leaders had come out against the statement, Mr Chandy said. The  UDF and the Congress would  meet on Monday to discuss the poll debacle and take stock of the situation, he said.