Congress could not hold broad secular movement against BJP in Bihar: Kerala CPI(M) secretary

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 15 (PTI) CPI(M) Kerala state secretary M V Govindan on Saturday alleged that the Congress could not cohesively hold the broad secular alliance against the BJP in Bihar where the opposition suffered a rout in the Assembly elections.

Addressing reporters here, he said though the primary reason for the defeat of Mahagathbandhan was the "targeted deletion" of votes by the Election Commission through a hurried process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Congress and other secular parties should analyse the other factors behind the poor show and take due course correction.

Govindan also charged that doubts about manipulation in the EVM had also been reported. "It appears that the BJP government at the Centre has sabotaged the elections with the help of the EC," he alleged.

In his speech after the Bihar results, the prime minister openly stated that the government could effectively use the Election Commission to conduct fair elections, said Govindan.

The speech itself exposed the central government’s agenda of misusing the EC for electoral gains. The EC had ignored the opposition’s protest against the Bihar government announcing a cash transfer of Rs 10,000 to women when the election code of conduct was in force.

The Bihar government and the Centre misused the EC machinery and indulged in communal propaganda and splurge to steal the election victory, he charged.

On the SIR process in Kerala, Govindan said the state government and CPI(M) will separately file petitions before the Supreme Court against the rushed move for revision of electoral rolls when the elections to local bodies have been announced.

He said at an all-party meeting convened by the state electoral officer, the BJP also had expressed the view that the SIR process could be postponed till the local body polls are over. The Congress had earlier said that they would also move the Supreme Court against the move.

Govindan, however, said that all voters should take care to ensure their votes if the EC is pressing ahead with the revision, though the legal fight is on.

He said the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) will unitedly face the electorate in the coming local body polls in the state with its development agenda and sticking to its fight against both minority and majority communalism. PTI MVG MVG ADB