THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Like all elections, the Pala byelection will also be a referendum on the incumbent government in the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, he said Pala was one of the strongholds of UDF over the years.
However, the LDF is confident of winning the seat this time. Since it is a byelection to the state assembly, naturally, the state’s governance would mostly be discussed in the election. And considering this, the LDF is relatively in a good position, he said.
In reply to a question on the debacle in the parliament elections, he said there were some targeted campaigns against the LDF during the time of Lok Sabha poll and there were also a lot of other factors behind the drubbing. Moreover, a special kind of feeling was formed among public in favour of UDF and they could capitalise on it.
But now there is no any such situation and it is unwise to think that they can do well in the assembly poll for the reasons that could help them script a thumping victory in the Lok Sabha poll, he added. He also said he did not think the factional feud within the Kerala Congress (M) will have any bearing on the poll verdict.
It is mainly related to choosing some names for the seat and the LDF will not get any major benefit from out of this controversy, he said. But things are not in favour of Kerala Congress (M) this time as in the past, he added. He also ruled out the possibility of a Sabarimala impact on the poll.