THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The electoral scene in Vattiyoorkavu and Konni is heating up with allegations of vote trade taking place between the CPM and the BJP. The Congress has sensed trouble in Konni with the CPM fielding a weak candidate and the BJP doing it in Vattiyoorkavu.
While Congress leaders harped on the vote trade, the CPM and the BJP rejected the charge.
KPCC president Mullapally Ramachandran on Tuesday backed K. Muraleedharan MP’s allegations that the CPM and BJP had reached a pact over the two seats.
Muraleedharan had claimed on Monday that the CPM and the BJP would support each other in Vattiyoorkavu and Konni. He alleged that the BJP had fielded a weak candidate S. Suresh in Vattiyoorkavu to give adv-antage to the CPM’s V.K. Prasanth, Thiruvananth-apuram Corporation Mayor.
While BJP state general secretary K. Surendran is the BJP candidate in Konni, K. U. Jinesh Kumar, a newcomer to electoral politics and state DYFI vice-president, is the Left candidate.
“The vote trade which happened in Pala between the CPM and BJP will be repeated in Vattiyoorkavu as well. Where did the 7000 votes of BJP go in Pala?” Mullapally said in Manjeswaram ahead of the UDF convention. The Congress had not entered into any pact in the five constituencies, he said.
BJP state president P. S. Sreedharan Pillai said that Congress was raising baseless allegations due to the fear of failure. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in New Delhi that for mere victory, the CPM will not play ‘cheap politics.’ CPM Thiruvan-anthapuram district secretary Anavoor Nagappan alleged that Muraleedh-aran was trying to hide the pact between the Congress and the BJP.
