Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator Sivankotty, who is looking to retain the high-profile Nemom assembly constituency in the April 9 Kerala elections, faces a strong challenge from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Congress candidate KS Sabarinadhan. In an interview with HT, the state Public Education and Labor Minister spoke about his competition as well as the expectations of his party-led Left Democratic Front in the upcoming elections. Edited excerpts:
Nemom is a carefully monitored high-profile constituency. Do you feel any pressure?
never. After the formation of NEMOM after demarcation, there were three elections in which I, as CPI(M) candidate, won twice and lost once. When she lost in 2016, she received the most votes ever — 89,000 votes. Even when I won in 2021, I received fewer votes. The Congress vote share rose last time only because of K Muraleedharan’s contest. The voting pattern is different. The LDF may get only about 30,000 votes in the Lok Sabha polls, but it is surging in the Assembly elections. Naoum is not a stronghold for any party. LDF has a good chance of victory here.
Is it a direct contest between the CPI (financial) and the BJP, or a three-way battle involving the Congress?
Two of the last three elections were straight fights with the BJP, but when Muraleedharan contested, it was a three-way fight. This time, the Congress candidate has just arrived. The evaluation will take a week.
Do you feel that Sabarinadhan is not a strong candidate like Muraleedharan?
That would be like insulting a competitor, and I don’t want to do that.
The BJP claims that you, as an MLA and a minister, have done nothing for the constituency.
We have $1000 crore worth development projects here. Out of 23 schools, 19 have new buildings. We have modernized Namum Taluk Hospital, built a new promenade along the Karamana River, inaugurated a new building for the Kerala Academy of Skills Excellence (KASE) in Karamana, sanctioned the construction of a new Industrial Training Institute (ITI), while work continues on eight new bridges…
The BJP candidate here is Croripati (Millionaire). Can he tolerate the smell of the sweat of the poor? Will he wait to hear their problems? His language is already a problem. This is not a job for him. He actually committed fraud by not disclosing all of his assets on his election return. Property tax records are available to the public. His house is worth it $200 Crores. Unlike him, our assets belong to the people.
Will you move legally against the BJP candidate?
Yes, we have spoken to our lawyers in the Kerala High Court and will file a case soon. We will file a petition before the Election Commission. His statement may be accepted by the returning officer, but the court will examine it in detail and give the correct ruling.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front claims that after 10 years, there is massive anger against the LDF government. Your thoughts
There is no chance of UDF winning. In the past ten years, UDF leaders have been unable to identify a specific sector in which no progress has been made. In the Assembly, the United Democratic Front failed to submit even a single motion of no-confidence. In the last 10 years, they have not been able to accuse any minister of corruption.
