KOCHI: Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on Sunday accused the ruling LDF of seeking votes in Thrikkakara bypoll by deploying ministers depending on their caste and religions to visit particular houses in the constituency to canvass votes. This is an affront to secular Kerala, he told reporters here.
“Still, the ruling front claims theirs is a Communist government,” Satheesan said. He said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is camping in Kochi to oversee LDF’s campaign, should first ensure that there’s no erosion of the CPM votes in Thrikkakara. “The CM knows pretty well that his party would lose the votes of hardcore CPM workers due to the infighting between two of its leaders, which forced them to parachute an outsider as a candidate,” Satheesan said.
The Opposition leader also said over 5,000 applications from a list of 6,500 new voters submitted by the UDF were rejected citing one flimsy reason or another. “The chief electoral officer should take steps to take action against the officers responsible in this regard,” Satheesan said.
Satheesan’s charges