In its bid to retain power at any cost, the CPI(M) has thrown all niceties to the winds and have launched a non-holds-barred attack against the Congress-led UDF and the BJP.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in his election speeches on Friday that the defeat of CPI(M) in Tripura was the outcome of acts of sabotage by the RSS-led Sangh Parivar. “If the RSS is under the impression that they could replicate the same in Kerala, we will give them a befitting lesson which they would not forget in this lifetime,” said Vijayan, while addressing election meetings in Kannur on Friday morning.
The Chief Minister said that the Centre and the RSS has deployed a group of Ministers and Sangh Parivar activists in Kerala to dethrone the elected Government. “These leaders have been camping in Kerala since the day election was notified and are spreading fake news that there are counterfeit names in the electoral rolls. Their only objective is to derail and sabotage the democratic processes and I am sure they would not succeed in these missions,” said Vijayan.
He said there was no truth in reports about 4.5 lakh voters in the State. “There are some reports that say that there are more than 20 lakh fake names in the electoral rolls of the State. The State electoral Officer has done a good job in preparing a balanced voters list,” said the chief minister.
Vijayan said that there is an international conspiracy to tarnish the image of the CPI(M). The controversy about fake voters is part of this programme, he said. “Kerala is the only State in India where fair and free election is held. Ramesh Chennithala’s attempt is to project Kerala as a land of fake voting and this is an insult to the people of the State,” said the Chief Minister.
But the internal differences in the CPI(M) over denial of tickets to some of the leaders are coming out on daily basis. E P Jayarajan, minister for industries, who was projected as the second in command to Vijayan, declared that he would not contest future elections. It is reported that Jayarajan was peeved over the party leadership’s decision not to field him in the 2021 assembly election. Jayarajan (71) cited age as the reason for his decision not to contest election. But party insiders said that this was an indirect snub to Vijayan who himself is 77.
G Sudhakaran (75), and Kunjan Pillai Suresh Kurup (65), Nair faces of the CPI(M), are the other leaders sulking over denial of seats to contest the election.