Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which swept the recently concluded local body polls in Kerala, has begun preparations for the Assembly polls by commencing seat-sharing talks and planning the expansion of the front.
UDF parties, which met for the first time since the local body poll results were announced last week, announced that the seat sharing talks will be concluded by 15 January, after which individual parties would be asked to announce their candidates.
The UDF has also decided to undertake a march from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in February. The UDF has also decided to induct the P.V. Anvar-led Trinamool Congress and tribal activist C.K. Janu-led Janadhipathya Rashtriya Party (JRP) as its associate members.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Opposition Leader V. D. Satheesan added that the coalition has advised its partners against joining hands with either the CPI(M) or the BJP at the local level under any circumstances.
The UDF won four of the six municipal corporations and secured victory in 54 of the 87 municipalities, seven of the 14 district panchayats, 79 of the 152 block panchayats, and 505 of the 941 village panchayats in the state in the recently concluded local body polls.
“The CPI(M) is acting restless after the election results. In many places, incidents of violence have taken place. The CPI(M) should ask its workers to leave their weapons behind. Otherwise, they will face another huge setback,” Satheesan said.
Satheesan said the UDF manifesto, which has been prepared with the help of experts over the past one year, will carry a blueprint for the state’s future, addressing issues concerning the hilly and coastal regions in the state, which will also be highlighted in the February rally.
“The march will not just be political. It will be different from what we have seen so far. It will present our vision for the future of the state,” Satheesan said, adding that the UDF, which began its Assembly poll preparations much earlier, will now intensify its work.
Anvar, C. K. Janu in
Monday’s meeting also decided to include the Trinamool Congress, led by former Nilambur MLA P. V. Anvar, and the C. K. Janu-led Janadhipathya Rashtriya Party (JRP) as UDF associate parties. Both the Trinamool Congress in Kerala and the JRP are currently part of the BJP-led NDA.
Satheesan said the parties have been given associate status for now, and their future position will be decided based on performance. He said the parties approached the UDF without any conditions.
“They requested to formally join the UDF, and the decision was taken at the UDF meeting,” Satheesan said, adding that the expanded UDF would include several parties that were earlier associated with the Left.
“They will realise that the Left is actually right-wing, and that we are the real alternative,” he said.
P. V. Anvar, the former LDF-backed Independent MLA from Nilambur, has been attempting to join the UDF since his resignation in early January, after declaring an “open war” against the Pinarayi Vijayan government over alleged corruption. He later joined the Trinamool Congress and attempted to enter the UDF ahead of the Nilambur bypolls. However, the UDF rejected his proposal after he openly criticised the party leadership for selecting Aryadan Shoukath as its candidate in Nilambur.
Expressing happiness over joining the UDF, Anvar said the mandate against the LDF reflected people’s anger against what he termed the communal agenda of the Pinarayi Vijayan government.
“In the Assembly polls in the coming months, people, including supporters of the Communist Party, will vote against Pinarayi. I urge everyone to vote for the UDF,” Anvar said.
C. K. Janu, a tribal activist from Wayanad, is known for leading several major agitations for tribal land rights. She founded the Janadhipathya Rashtriya Party in 2016, focusing on the rights and welfare of the tribal population. The party has since aligned with the NDA multiple times but quit, citing neglect. Janu had also unsuccessfully contested the 2016 Assembly polls from the Sulthan Bathery Assembly constituency in the Wayanad.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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