UDF, NDA join LDF in Kerala by-poll fray

TRIVANDRUM: Candidates of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday filed their nominations for the Sept.23 by-election in Pala amidst high drama.

Tom Jose Pulikkunnel of UDF and NDA’S N. Hari, fielded by the BJP, are joining Mani C. Kappen, the candidate of the state’s ruling Let Democratic Front (LDF) led by the Communist Party of India-marxist or CPI-M who is already in the fray.

Kappen, fielded by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) who filed his papers on Saturday, is far ahead of his rivals in the campaign already covering every nook and cranny of the constituency, held since 1965 by the late Kerala Congress (M) chief KM Mani.

Jose belongs to the dissident faction led by Mani’s son Jose K Mani and he has to contest as an independent candidate backed by the UDF as the KC (M) working president PJ Joseph denied him the party’s double-leaf symbol.

Joseph Kandathil, a farmers’ leader, has also filed his nomination, leaving the party cadres confused ater his mentor Joseph said he would campaign for Pulikkunnel, even if he refuses to follow his line.

He also wrote to the returning officer saying that his party has no official candidate contesting on its symbol. A court had earlier annulled the election of Mani as the KC (M) chief by the dissidents.

Also on Tuesday, the UDF won 15 of the 27 civic body seats that went to the polls across the state, wresting five while losing two. The LDF had to contend with 11 and the NDA one.

In the May national elections, the UDF had established a lead in 123 of the 140 assembly segments leaving 16 to the LDF and one to the BJP when it swept 19 of the 20 parliamentary seats, bagging 12 per cent more votes.

In the Pala segment, it had a massive lead of 33,426 votes, though the gap between the late leader and Kappen was narrowing steadily during the past three assembly elections. Mani had won in 1996 by a margin of 23,790 votes which went down to 22,301 in 2001, to 7,759 in 2006, to 5,259 in 2011 and to 4,703 in 2016.

The LDF hopes to cash in on the infighting to beat the growing disenchantment with the LDF government, which came to power on the promise of 2.5 million jobs and price stability in 2016.