Thiruvananthapuram: Archbishop Soosapakiam of the Latin Catholic Church has called upon the people to exercise their franchise wisely. Although political parties and media were expecting the Archbishop to give some hint about the Latin Catholic Church stand in the elections, he did not do that while flagging off the election awareness rally of the V.N. Panikkar Foundation.
Sources said that the Church has extended silent support to LDF candidate Antony Raju of the Kerala Congress (Democratic) in Thiruvananthapuram and UDF candidate M. Vincent of the Congress in Kovalam. These two are the only candidates belonging to the community contesting the elections.
The Church has refused to support any political party. However, in a constituency where the candidate belonging to the community is contesting, the Church would back the candidate. Such a stand would be conveyed to the laity in a subtle way, sources said.
The Church would not associate itself with the campaign or issue any statements supporting any candidates. It wanted adequate representation for the members of the community in the Assembly. However, it did not want to be identified as supporting any single political party or front. There are political activists belonging to various parties in the community, said sources.
