His party has not entered into a political alliance with the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, State president of the Bharateeya Janata Party (BJP) V. Muraleedharan has said.
“But in some wards and divisions, the BJP has an understanding with the SNDP Yogam for the local body elections,” Mr. Muraleedharan said, while addressing a meet-the-press programme organised by the Kollam Press Club on Monday.
“Candidates mutually agreed upon by the BJP and the SNDP Yogam are contesting under the BJP symbol or as independents too,” he said.
The politics of vote bank appeasement would get a big setback in this election, he said. A third political alternative was fast becoming a reality in Kerala. It was also a fact that the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front were becoming wary about the third alternative.
The Communist Party of India and the LDF, which had to raise their voice against the litany of corruption rows like solar, cashew corporation, Consumerfed and bar bribe under the UDF rule, was maintaining a puzzling silence against the Ommen Chandy government, Mr Muraleedharan said.
Failed in duties
The LDF in general and the CPI(M) in particular had miserably failed to discharge the duty of a responsible opposition. “For that simple reason, the BJP has now emerged as the biggest challenge to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the State.”
He said the covert and overt understanding the CPI(M) had with the Indian Union Muslim League for this election would only harm the CPI(M). The people had already understood the double standards of the CPI(M) behind this.
In northern Kerala, the Congress was slowly becoming extinct. It appeared that the Congress had submitted Malabar to the IUML, Mr. Muraleedharan added.
