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`An eye-opener'

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Sept. 29. The senior Congress leader, K Karunakaran, said here today that the UDF's defeat in the Ernakulam bye-election should be an eye-opener to the Congress leadership as the poll outcome was an indicator of the electorate's reaction to the overbearing attitude of the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony.

Stating that he was not at all surprised by the election results, Mr. Karunakaran told waiting mediapersons soon after counting of votes was over that there is a lesson to be learnt in the UDF's defeat. ``There is a lesson to be learnt in this. It is inappropriate for a person to hold the view that whatever he decides should be accepted by the people,'' Mr. Karunakaran said.

``This is an opportunity to assess the electorate's reaction and I hope the Congress leadership would be prepared to take this factor into account,'' he said.

The Chief Minister claimed all long that Mr. John was his candidate. Mr. John himself made similar claims. Therefore it was the Chief Minister's responsibility to ensure the victory of his nominee. The majority by which the UDF candidate lost cannot be ignored either, he added.

The KPCC president, K. Muraleedharan, said that the election result was the reflection of the serious problems the Congress faced in relation to the selection of candidates. The responsibility solely rests with the Chief Minister, who ploughed for Mr. John rejecting the nominees submitted by the KPCC election committee.

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