Political undercurrents led to LDF’s poor local body poll show: Minister Sivankutty

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 14 (PTI) General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Sunday said strong political undercurrents led to the LDF’s dismal performance in the local body elections.

Speaking to reporters, Sivankutty, who spearheaded the LDF campaign in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, where the BJP won 50 of the 101 seats, alleged that the saffron party violated norms and carried out campaigns to influence voters.

He said he would reveal details with evidence at a later stage.

Sivankutty said the LDF never felt at any stage that people would vote against the Left Front.

“But a strong undercurrent has taken place. Otherwise, the result would not have been so,” he said.

He denied allegations of leadership failure behind the poll debacle and said the party would evaluate the reasons and take necessary steps.

“We have not yet had time to examine the reasons,” he said.

Responding to CPI(M) senior leader and MLA M M Mani’s remark that people voted against the LDF despite receiving welfare benefits from the government, Sivankutty said such a response should not have been made.

“He said it in his style. But Mani, who comes from the grassroots and has seen many protests, should not have accused the people after a setback. I don’t think it reflects the party’s policy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mani said he made the remark in an emotional response to the election results. He said CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby had clarified that the comment was inappropriate.

“That is the party’s stance and also mine,” Mani said.

He added that the LDF government had implemented several welfare measures for the people, but the adverse outcomes upset him. “No leader demanded a correction or contacted me after the comment,” he said.

The local body elections saw a poor performance by the Left parties, which were reduced to holding power in just one municipal corporation, down from five of six in 2020.

The major setback for the Left was the loss of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the state capital, to the BJP. PTI TBA TBA ADB