LDF accuses UDF of cobbling together a rainbow coalition of communal forces in Nilambur bypoll
Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener T.P. Ramakrishnan said the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition was scrambling to cobble together a 'rainbow coalition' of communal forces in the vain hope that it could trounce the ruling front in the Nilambur Assembly byelection.
Mr. Ramakrishnan claimed the UDF lacked a credible development and social welfare agenda to offer Nilambur's electorate. He noted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remained undecided about fielding a candidate in Nilambur. He alleged the UDF's commitment to the principles of secularism was suspiciously ambiguous, and the coalition was desperately scouting for allies of all communal hues.
'The UDF is desperate to win Nilambur. It is a six-party coalition of convenience that will disintegrate if the people shun the alliance for a third consecutive time in the 2026 Assembly elections,' he said.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said the LDF's emphasis on social welfare and development had provided tangible results for Kerala, including Nilambur's electorate. 'They have enthusiastically rallied behind Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] candidate M. Swaraj,' he said.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said former Left Democratic Front Independent legislator from Nilambur P.V. Anvar had rendered himself a political non-entity by switching sides and aligning himself with the UDF.
The Congress and the media had lionised Mr. Anvar as a muckraking anti-corruption LDF insider. However, Mr. Anvar's sensationalist value seemed shortlived.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said the Congress had taken a page from the aged political playbook it had used and failed against the LDF in the 2016 and 2021 Assembly elections. Congress' potshots at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan based on Mr. Anvar's false accusations had ricocheted off the wall of popular opinion.
'Mr. Anvar's entry into the UDF is in limbo. The for-and-against Anvar infighting is the new battlefront in the Cold War between entrenched Congress factions in Kerala. Mr. Anvar's prospecting for a berth in the UDF has clawed open old fissures in the Congress. The facade of unity in the Congress is unravelling rapidly. The schisms will work to Mr. Swaraj's advantage in the bypoll,' he said.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said the LDF would complete the formation of booth committees by June 5. On June 1, Mr. Vijayan would chair the election committee in Nilambur and address a mammoth LDF rally with other alliance leaders.
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