Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy will lead the election campaign of the United Demcratic Front (UDF), said Vayalar Ravi, Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Overseas Indian Affairs.
He was speaking at 'Nilapadu 2011', the meet-the-press programme ahead of Assembly elections, at the Ernakulam Press Club here on Friday.
In reply to questions, Mr. Ravi said that he used to have different concepts about leadership sometime back. But he has been entrusted with major assignments at the Union Ministry and there is a general consensus that there should not be a conflict about leadership issue.
He said he welcomed the suggestion that Ramesh Chennithala, president of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, should enter the election fray. The prsenr confusions about seat sharing is a regular incident and the UDF will find amicable solutions soon enough.
Non-resident voting rights
Mr. Ravi said that his ministry has expressed the practical issues faced by expatriates, especially in Middle Asian countries, to vote from embassies concerned. Those working in Gulf nations have problem in collecting at the embassy and also their passports would be most often with the sponsor.
As of now, these expatriates have been asked to send across the self-attested applications to be included in voter's list. This list can be scrutinised by political parties, as is the regular practice. A final decision on this is expected from the Election Commission soon, Mr. Ravi said.
Main campaign issues
The UDF will be highlighting three main issues - that of development, restoring rule of law and speeding up Union Government projects - as the main poll campaign. The present LDF government failed to priorotise the development need of the State and was stuck with the political issues between the Chief Minister and State secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist). Even the ongoing debate on whether Chief Minister V.S. Achutanandan should contest is a political stunt, at the end of which he will be fielded as candidate, Mr. Ravi said.
Refusing to make a firm statement on the media reports about his daughter being fielded as a candidate, Mr. Ravi said that he had a sentimental attachment to Kottayam constituency. His wife Mercy Ravi used to represent that seat.
Mr. Ravi also welcomed the return of K. Muralidharan. He brought with him the legacy of former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran. He also said that the Congress High Command favoured giving chance to youth in this election.
