A political war of words broke out in Kerala on Sunday after Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly V D Sathisan alleged a deceptive pact between the ruling Communist Party of India and the BJP in at least 10 constituencies for the upcoming elections. Both parties denied these accusations, describing them as baseless.
Speaking to reporters in his Paravur constituency, Sathisan alleged that the CPI(M)-led United Democratic Front (UDF) was fielding “weak” candidates in at least 10 seats where the BJP is a strong force, in order to defeat the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). In return, the BJP allotted several key seats in central Kerala to its “weak” allies like Twenty-20 to help the LDF, he claimed.
The crux of Sathisan’s claims lies in Palakkad constituency, where the Congress party has nominated actor-turned-politician Ramesh Pisharody against the BJP’s Sobha Surendran. The CPI(M) has supported independent candidate Nimr Razzaq, a well-known restaurateur and businessman. Pisharody replaces MLA Rahul Mamkuttathil, who was expelled from the Congress over several rape allegations. In the last three elections, the BJP came second in Palakkad, followed by the CPI(Maoist) in third place.
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“Palakkad is a constituency where the Congress won by a margin of 18,000 votes (in the last by-poll). The BJP is the closest rival. The LDF has fielded a weak candidate in order to divide the UDF votes. He (Razzaq) was sent to Palakkad to deliberately help the BJP. There is an agreement between the two parties,” Sathisean alleged.
“There is an agreement between the CPI (Maoist) and the BJP on at least 10 seats, and we are particularly focusing on those seats. In those 10 seats, since the CPI (financial) is weak, it helps the BJP,” he said.
In return, the BJP allegedly allotted more than a dozen seats to its ally Twenty-20, which is organizationally present only in the eastern parts of Ernakulam district.
“This is a clear example of the exchange of services,” he said.
However, Sabu M Jacob, chief coordinator of the Twenty20 party, said such accusations indicate that the UDF and LDF are “afraid” of the power of the NDA. “Both coalitions fear the NDA coming to power in Kerala. That’s why both of them are accusing us. In the panchayat elections, both the LDF and the United Democratic Front fielded joint candidates against us, and even joined extremist parties like the Welfare Party of India and the People’s Democratic Party,” Jacob said.
“The leaders of Congress and the Communists are not aware of the power of the Twenty,” Jacob said.
Communist Party of India (Maoist) central committee member AK Balan claimed that Satheesan had a “community agenda” in mind by referring to the Left’s Muslim candidate Razzaq in Palakkad.
“Razzaq has struggled a lot to get where he is today. He is not a secondary candidate. He is the state secretary of the Hotel and Restaurant Association. He is our first candidate. The Congress is just taking an anticipatory bail in case Palakkad loses the elections,” Balan said.
BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan denied the allegations, saying: These are just allegations that have been raised for years. Where’s the real deal? In neighboring Tamil Nadu, there is an alliance between the Congress and the CPI(Financial). Communist Party of India (Maoist) general secretary MA Baby will admonish Congress leaders here, but in Delhi, he calls Rahul Gandhi an angel. “They are opportunists.”
