After dithering for almost a week in the selection of its candidate, K. Muraleedharan, the United Democratic Front (UDF) finally organised its parliamentary mandalam convention at Vadakara on Thursday.
The convention, which was planned on Monday, had to be cancelled when the Congress leadership was left undecided on its nominee. Now, with the entry of Mr. Muraleedharan into the electoral scene, the political situation has taken a complete twist with the Lok Sabha constituency becoming high-stakes for both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led coalition.
Hundreds of activists gathered at the Vadakara railway station as Mr. Muraleedharan alighted from the train in the evening.
Inaugurating the convention, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikuttty said that the contest at Vadakara was between good and evil. The victory of Mr. Muraleedharan was necessary for the welfare of the people and development of the constituency.
He said that the Lok Sabha election was an opportunity for the electorate of Vadakara to avenge the killings of Muslim Youth League worker Ariyil Abdul Shukoor and Youth Congress workers Sharath and Kripesh.
He said that the women who lost their husbands and mothers their sons would teach the opponents a lesson through the ballot. The people of Vadakara were yearning for peace and harmony, he said.
When the Congress was taking on the BJP at the national level, the IUML leader said that a wrong message should not go out from Kerala. The governments both at the Centre and the State were of no use to the common man, Mr. Kunhalikuttty said.
In his keynote address, former KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran accused the LDF government of trying to sabotage the cases involving political murders. The Pinarayi Vijayan regime had tried to scuttle a CBI probe into many of these cases.
UDF district chairman P. Sankaran recalled that the BJP and the CPI(M) had joined hands to support the V.P. Singh government at the Centre in 1989.
