Charges of vote-trading and cross-voting have turned to be the pivot of the Lok Sabha election campaign, mainly in Thiruvananthapuram and Vadakara that are witnessing an intense tri-cornered contest and Kollam where the Bharatiya Janata Party is under a cloud in the face of the charges of fielding a relatively lesser known candidate against N.K. Premachandran of the United Democratic Front (UDF).
Right from the launch of the campaign itself, the UDF, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had been accusing each other of cross voting and vote trading in all segments as per an unwritten tacit deal.
Cong. complaint
The LDF was the first to flag the issue in Thiruvananthapuram and it gained momentum when a section of Congress workers complained to the leadership of the campaign machinery of Shashi Tharoor turning inefficacious and losing steam.
The LDF soon dubbed it as a conscious move to help NDA candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan and also as a manifestation of a tacit Congress-League-BJP alliance, which it said, was prevalent across the State.
The UDF stoutly denied the charge, but the appointment of an observer lent grist to the allegation that the tempo had waned within the first two rounds itself.
The BJP has been attempting to put the LDF in the dock by relentlessly alleging that the front leadership, especially the CPI(M) would shift its votes in favour of Mr. Tharoor, if it gets wind of Mr. Rajasekharan faring well in the final round.
Cohesive unit
But the LDF machinery had been functioning in an astute fashion right from the start with due cohesion, giving self-confidence to its cadre of putting in an impressive performance.
The charges of the BJP going soft on Mr. Premachandran came as jolt to the UDF in Kollam.
The uncertainty in the NDA campaigning in Kollam and Mr. Premachandran’s reported remarks that he would accept all anti-CPI(M) votes, including that of the BJP have put the BJP as well as the UDF on the defence.
The BJP is forced to resist charges of cross voting in Vadakara too.
For, K. Muralidharan (UDF) has reiterated the Congress resolve to corner Mr. Jayarajan with the support of all others and this has put the BJP, which is the principal foe of the CPI(M), under pressure. The BJP had earned nearly 70,000 votes in the previous election and it would have to maintain the tally.
Dip in vote share
A dip in vote share would give way to charges of shifting votes for Mr. Muralidharan.
The alleged slackness in launching its campaign in Kozhikode too has given ground to similar allegations, sources said.
