The Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD), an ally of the Left Democratic Front ( LDF), has decided to wholeheartedly work for the victory of the coalition candidates though it has been denied a Lok Sabha seat.
“We are unhappy with the way the party has been let down despite our talks with the main coalition partner, the Communist Party of India ( Marxist),” LJD State secretary general Sheikh P. Haris told The Hindu .
He said the CPI(M) had earlier offered a Lok Sabha seat apart from retaining the Rajya Sabha membership which M.P. Veerendrakumar had relinquished when he quit the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). “The LJD joined the LDF based on our political stand. We still stand by that decision,” he said.
Meanwhile, a State committee meeting of the party here, attended by 75 members, on Monday saw several leaders coming out against the CPI(M).
But none of them wanted to air their views openly. Some said the party would have got a better deal if they had been with the UDF. When the party was with the UDF, its State president Mr. Veerendrakumar had unsuccessfully contested the Palakkad seat.
Incidentally, former Minister K.P. Mohanan and Kozhikode district president Manayath Chandran had opposed the move to align with the LDF during the initial days. The LJD (formerly Janata Dal{S}) had walked out of the LDF when Mr. Veerendrakumar was denied the Kozhikode seat in 2009.
Later, briefing the media about the meeting, LJD State president M.V. Sreyams Kumar and Mr. Haris said the CPI(M) and the LDF had promised to adequately compensate for the loss next time, including the local body polls next year, Assembly elections in 2021, and the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
They said the LJD had been hoping to contest the Lok Sabha polls and was certainly expecting a seat (Vadakara) for various reasons. One of the factors was that the party had no elected representatives either in the Assembly or the Lok Sabha. It had to be satisfied with the Rajya Sabha held by Mr. Veerendrakumar, who got elected to the upper House with the support of the LDF last year.
Interestingly, the CPI(M) had not offered any seat to the Janata Dal (Secular) which had three legislators and one of them is a Minister in the LDF Cabinet.
