KOZHIKODE: UDF candidate in Vadakara K Muraleedharan on Thursday said many Left supporters and fellow travellers have backed his candidature, indirectly hinting at discord in the CPM-led front. He also exuded confidence that the UDF would win not less than 15 seats if not record a clean sweep in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
“On many occasions, Left sympathisers and fellow travellers have urged me to contest (from Vadakara). Silent votes were polled in large numbers in favour of Mullappally Ramachandran in 2009. It manifested openly through T P Chandrasekharan earlier. But there are still such forces within the Left. Such people have urged me to contest though only RMP has made that request official,” Muraleedharan said at a meet-the-press programme at the Press Club here.
Asked whether the rumblings within the Left camp were due to CPM strongman from Kannur P Jayarajan’s candidature, Muraleedharan said a ‘number of factors’ were involved. “The diversion from the Left’s established ideals could be one of the reasons,” the Congress leader added.Refuting charges that there was a ‘Ko-li-bi’ (Congress-League-BJP) alliance in Vadakara to defeat Jayarajan, Muraleedharan said the Congress believes that it was a ‘Ma-Bi’ (CPM-BJP) nexus that has been formed in the state to defeat the UDF.
Muraleedharan said the Congress was facing the elections with a two-pronged approach. One is to ensure that a government which firmly upholds secular outlook comes to power at the Centre. The second was to ensure that the people deliver a clear mandate against murder politics perpetrated by the CPM,” the Congress leader said.
Muraleedharan said the Congress was in favour of a grand alliance of all secular parties and it does not want to sideline the Left in such an alliance. However, the CPM in Kerala follows the path of violent politics which cannot be accepted. On whether Vadakara is a challenge,he said the challenge was to retain the constituency which had favoured Congress for a decade. Saying he subscribes to K K Rema’s remarks on P Jayarajan’s candidature,Muraleedharan made it clear he has no plans to milk the Sabarimala issue.
Refuting charges that there is a ‘Ko-li-bi’ (Congress-League-BJP) alliance in Vadakara to defeat Jayarajan, Muraleedharan said the Congress believes that it is a ‘Ma-Bi’ (CPM-BJP) nexus that has been forged in the state to defeat the UDF.