The Hindu (Thiruvananthapuram)
Cong. is B team of BJP, its stance on CAA has created distrust, says V. Joy
LDF candidate in the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency says public will question the performance of sitting MP and UDF candidate Adoor Prakash. He was absent from many major programmes which happened in the constituency, says MLA
The reputation of being someone who has never tasted electoral defeats sits light on V.Joy’s shoulders. Tasked by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with the responsibility of reclaiming the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency, known as a red citadel until Adoor Prakash won from here in 2019, Mr.Joy has been mounting an energetic campaign with a large group of young party workers accompanying him to every corner of the constituency.
Having in the past got successfully elected as grama panchayat president, block panchayat president and as a member of the district panchayat, the party chose him in 2016 to reclaim the Varkala Assembly constituency, another left stronghold which Congress leader Varkala Kahar was then holding for three consecutive terms. Joy went on to defeat Kahar that year and to increase the lead further in 2021. The party, acknowledging his organising capabilities, made him the Thiruvananthapuram district secretary. In an interview to The Hindu during a hectic campaign trail, he expressed his confidence to recapture Attingal for the party, just like he did with Varkala.
“Last time around, two factors were against us in
Attingal, just like in most other seats Rahul Gandhi’s candidature and the Sabarimala issue. Even then, we lost in Attingal only by around 38,000 votes, while the margin was around 1.5 lakh in many seats.
None of these factors
This time, none of these factors are at play. A direct fight is happening between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), and our party workers have been campaigning diligently to capture Attingal,” says Mr.Joy. He said that the LDF campaign, in addition to the issues that it is raising Statewide, will be focussing on sitting MP, Adoor Prakash’s performance.
“People will certainly question the MP’s performance, especially in the Parliament. He was hardly seen in the constituency, and was absent from many major programmes which happened in the constituency. As for spendings on development, the focus has just been on installing high mast lights,” alleges Mr.Joy.
Regarding questions on the fairness of a sitting MLA contesting in Lok Sabha polls, thus opening up the possibility of byelections, he said that his rivals had begun such a campaign, but put an end to it when it was countered.
“I have just 1.5 years remaining in my term as
MLA. If I win from here, I will get 5 years to serve the people,” he says.
Mr.Joy’s campaign has been relentlessly accusing the Congress of working as a ‘Bteam’ of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Recent record
“The past as well as recent record of the Congress on their stand on many issues including the Citizenship Amendment Act has caused deep distrust among the public. Leaders are shifting from the Congress to the BJP in Kerala. So, it is natural that the people will think twice before voting for them. Now, regarding V. Muraleedharan, though he was the Minister of State for External Affairs, he has not done anything for Kerala. He did not utter even a word when the Union government demanded payment from the State government for rice provided as relief during the floods,” says Mr.Joy.