Political slugfest in Palakkad shows no sign of abating

The political slugfest in Palakkad Assembly constituency continued even after the byelection held on Wednesday.

While the United Democratic Front (UDF) took on the BJP for the tall claims it made on the polling day, the CPI(M) displayed its bitterness towards the UDF.

The BJP had claimed towards the final hours of the ballot on Wednesday that intensive polling in Palakkad municipality had ensured the party’s historic victory in the constituency, where the byelection was necessitated by Shafi Parambil’s relinquishment of his Assembly membership following his election to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara in April this year.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous to say that the BJP would improve its vote share in Palakkad municipality,” said Mr. Parambil, and V.K. Sreekandan, MP, accusing the BJP and the CPI(M) of continuing their “deceitful agenda” even after the elections.

Mr. Parambil and Mr. Sreekandan asserted that the municipality witnessed nearly 8% dip in polling from that of the Lok Sabha election held in April. They said all the UDF votes had been polled in their strongholds like Pirayiri. “Voting percentage in all the three panchayats marked an increase when in Palakkad municipality, the poll percentage dipped,” they said, disproving the BJP claims.

The Congress duo also slammed the BJP for leading a false campaign that the UDF had lost its votes in its stronghold Pirayiri. “In 2021, Pirayiri registered 26,015 votes. In this byelection, it registered 26,000. But during the Lok Sabha election, Pirayiri had polled only 25,200 votes. This being the situation, how can the BJP claim that the UDF has lost its votes in Pirayiri,” they asked.

They said that in Kalpathy, 72 BJP voters stayed away from voting this time. “The BJP had started an MLA office in 2021. That’s that party’s character,” they said.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) district secretary E.N. Suresh Babu alleged that the Congress and the BJP were frustrated because it could not poll “all the bogus votes they enrolled ahead of the byelection in Palakkad.”

He reiterated that UDF candidate Rahul Mamkootathil was a fraudster, and that the people had realised that. He also alleged an unholy deal between the Congress and the BJP. He too predicted that the BJP vote share in the municipality would hit a slump. “The RSS could do nothing even in Moothanthara, the stronghold of the BJP,” the CPI(M) leader said.

Published - November 21, 2024 08:25 pm IST