Kerala - Kottayam   

Sympathy wave helped LDF: Mani

Staff Reporter

`We failed to take the message of development to the masses properly'

`LDF embraced communal forces'

KOTTAYAM: Kerala Congress (M) leader and Revenue Minister K.M. Mani has said that a combination of factors contributed to the Left Democratic Front's victory in the Assembly elections, a sympathy wave for Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan being one of the key components.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Mani said the LDF embracing `communal forces,' announcement of pre-poll and exit poll results and the general tendency among a section of the electorate to experiment the LDF and the United Democratic Front (UDF) alternately had contributed to the defeat of the existing dispensation.

He, however, felt that it was the sympathy wave in favour of Mr. Achuthanandan which proved the crucial factor. ``A media hype over the denial of the ticket to Mr. Achuthanandan helped to make a martyr out of him and this had created a wave in his favour which in turn made him a crowd-puller,'' Mr. Mani said.

The verdict was not against the development agenda set by the UDF, Mr. Mani said pointing out that 42.96 per cent of the people had voted for the UDF. ``We failed to take the message of development to the masses as it should have been,'' he said admitting that the UDF was poor in media management.

Mr. Mani said the UDF would now function as a constructive Opposition. In spite of the UDF defeat, he himself and the party could put in a commendable performance in the elections. Out of its 11 candidates, seven came out victorious. His personal victory was a record-breaking one. This is his eleventh victory from the same constituency, Pala, a national record, he said.

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