THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the UDF and the Congress leaders claim that the front will come back to power, they are wary of the many undercurrents that can upset the apple cart. They hope for a narrow majority despite the strong challenge posed by the LDF and the BJP.
At a press conference here on Saturday, senior Congress leader A. K. Antony said that he was sure of the UDF coming back to power. “The CPM follows the politics of violence; it has not arrived at a common liquor policy and the left’s development agenda is far behind that of UDF,” he said.
“The BJP will have to sit in the visiting gallery of the Assembly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a surge to the UDF during his last leg of campaigning by pricking the self esteem of the Malayalis,” said Mr Antony.
Mr Antony and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy have been repeatedly saying that BJP will not get any seats. A Congress MLA told DC that they were worried about losing minority votes and hence had attacked the BJP.
“If we lose two to three percent of minority votes, it will affect our prospects. So the senior leaders of the party targeted the BJP at every opportunity,” he said.
At the same time, if the Congress loses sitting MLAs’ seats, ‘A’ group leaders may unleash an attack on KPCC president V.M. Suhdeeran as he had failed to stall the rebel candidates’ presence in several constituencies. A senior party leader told DC that Mr Sudheeran should have dissuaded rebel candidates like Sobhana George in Chengannur and P. K. Ragesh in Azhikode from contesting.
