KOZHIKODE: The Janata Dal(S) has decided to stick to its demand that the party be allowed to contest the Kozhikode Lok Sabha seat, which it won in the last elections.
Briefing reporters after a meeting of the party state committee here on Tuesday, JD(S) state president M P Veerendrakumar said the party had resolved not to swap the seat with Wayanad as offered by the CPM.It is true that delimitation has brought some changes in the Kozhikode constituency.
“
But it applies to all the 20 seats. If status-quo can be maintained in all other seats, there is no reason to think differently in the case of Kozhikode,” he said.
Ostensibly referring to the CPM argument that the JD(S) may not be able to win the seat, he said the issue of victory or defeat would be decided by the people.
Veerendrakumar said there was no political justification for asking the JD(S) to surrender its seat. “Our party has been with the LDF all through. We were with the LDF when the Front suffered a huge defeat and we continue to be in the Front when it swept the elections. There is no moral justification for the discrimination.” Veerendrakumar refused to answer repeated questions on what his party’s reaction would be if the CPM refused to budge.
“Our state committee has decided to press for the Kozhikode seat. This will be presented before the LDF state committee meeting and bilateral meeting scheduled for March 12. The rest will be decided after the LDF meeting,” he said.