THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the massive victory by the Opposition LDF in the Assembly elections was a continuation of the trend seen in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

Mr. Vijayan told a news conference here on Thursday that people had voted for the policies and programmes put forward by the LDF and vowed that the LDF would work to protect the interests of Kerala. The elections had brought out the total isolation of the Congress and the disintegration of the Muslim League fortress in Malappuram, he added.

In the Lok Sabha elections, the LDF had secured 18 seats. The UDF had won only one seat and the Congress had to go without any seat. The LDF was able to establish lead in 112 Assembly segments and had put in a similar performance in the local body elections and the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha byelection. As such, nobody had any doubt about the possibility of the LDF putting in a commendable performance in the Assembly elections, he pointed out.

Mr. Vijayan said the UDF's defeat in the election was significant for the manner in which several fortresses of the alliance had collapsed. The most significant of these was the defeat of the DIC(K) president K. Muraleedharan in Koduvally and the defeat of Muslim League leaders in the strongholds of the party in Malappuram district.

This would certainly result in a major crisis in the Muslim League as it showed that the League flock had lost faith in their leadership. In the Lok Sabha elections, the LDF had secured around 46 per cent votes. This has now gone up to 48.83 per cent.

Although the UDF's vote share has also increased from 38.31 per cent to 42.98 per cent, this is accounted for by the erosion in the BJP's vote share, which has fallen from 12.16 per cent in the Lok Sabha elections to 4.78 per cent now. The BJP has also suffered serious setbacks in the elections, he added.

Replying to questions, Mr. Vijayan said his party and the LDF would have no difficulty in picking up the Chief Minister.

The party State committee would meet by May 15 to take a final decision in the matter and the situation would become clear. The size of the LDF Cabinet would be decided by the LDF State committee, he said.

Mr. Vijayan also sought to allay misgivings about the LDF's stand on `Smart City' and said the LDF Government would have an open mind on all such issues. All that it opposed was the attempt of Dubai Internet City (DIC) group to monopolise the IT industry in the State.

The LDF also did not see Kerala's developmental question as one limited to IT. It was a larger question that involved the future of agriculture, traditional industries and modern industries. The LDF would take a holistic view of all these rather than getting tied down to IT alone, he said.

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