MALAPPURAM: A fresh political controversy has broken out in Nilambur over the Welfare Party’s support for the UDF and the PDP’s backing of the LDF, intensifying the already heated campaign ahead of the June 19 bypoll.
CPM state secretary M V Govindan criticised the UDF’s alignment with the Welfare Party of India, labelling it a tie-up with communal forces.
“The UDF has become an alliance of communal forces. Jamaat-e-Islami is a communal force across the world. But PDP is a large oppressed group,” he said, defending the LDF’s association with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) while attacking the UDF’s link to the Jamaat-e-Islami-backed Welfare Party.
Responding to the remarks, Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan hit back, accusing the CPM of hypocrisy.
“Jamaat-e-Islami supported the CPM until 2019. Even Pinarayi Vijayan has held meetings with its leaders. When Jamaat-e-Islami backs the CPM, it is secular, but when it doesn’t, it becomes communal. How can that be right? People will see through this double standard,” Satheesan said.
Meanwhile, the BJP took aim at both the LDF and UDF, accusing them of relying on the support of communal groups to win the bypoll.
“Both fronts are trying to win Nilambur by aligning with communal forces,” party leaders alleged, framing the contest as a case of political opportunism.
The sharp exchanges come as all major alliances seek to consolidate support in the final stretch of the Nilambur campaign, with identity politics and ideological affiliations now taking centre stage.