The United Democratic Front (UDF) has geared up for local body elections by making a thorough preparation after taking lessons from the worst defeat it suffered in the last civic elections in 2015.
District Congress president V.K. Sreekandan, MP, said here on Tuesday that the UDF was poised to grab anything between 50 and 60 local bodies in Palakkad.
Kicking off a special local poll meet-the-press series organised by the Palakkad Press Club, Mr. Sreekandan said unity within the UDF was the biggest plus point this time. “We have learned our lessons from the last elections and made huge progress by making a thorough preparation from enumeration of voters to selection of candidates,” he said.
Out of the 95 local bodies, including seven municipalities, the UDF had got only 20 in the last election. Out of the block panchayats, the UDF had only two, and out of the 30 district panchayat divisions, the UDF had only three. “We are seeking a vote against corruption. Brute majority without any opposition has blinded the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Palakkad and they proved to be the worst in corruption. Palakkad has become synonymous with corruption and inefficiency. This is the time to change that disgrace,” Mr. Sreekandan said.
According to him, the district panchayat wasted five years without doing anything worthwhile. “Corruption and nepotism became the hallmark of the Palakkad district panchayat in the last five years.”
In grama panchayats, he said, the LDF behaved like a bull in a china shop. “Several LDF constituents, including the CPI and the Janata Dal, rebelled at several places because of this bad behaviour of the CPI(M),” he said.
Mr. Sreekandan said Palakkad municipality showed the way for the entire State proving how it would be like for any civic body if the BJP came to power. “There was not a single peaceful council meeting. They always quarrelled among themselves. If the BJP comes to power in any local body, it will be like the Palakkad municipality,” he said.
