Kannur: Notwithstanding a slew of serious allegations faced by his government, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday exuded confidence that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) will register a historic win in the ongoing local body polls this time.
The LDF government was pitted against all reactionary forces and the central agencies had extended all support for such elements. But they would not be able to weaken or rattle the LDF, the CM said after casting his vote in Kannur on Monday morning.
Vijayan predicted severe setback for the Indian Union Muslim League, which has been traditionally strong in north Kerala districts where the last round of the civic polls is being held on Monday, December 14.
"The base of the Muslim League will crumble," Vijayan stated while adding that the LDF would register a massive win even in places where the front is not expected to do well.
Everyone knows which party has always secured the support of the northern districts. This election will also show how people react to falsehoods, he added.
Referring to the recent announcement that Covid vaccine will be administered free of cost in Kerala, the chief minister said he had not violated the Model Code of Conduct which has been in force since the announcement of the local body polls.
"The opposition has nothing else to speak about that is why they were raising such baseless allegations. Kerala is the only state in the country which is providing free Covid treatment. In such a state the preventive vaccine against Covid will also be free for the people," Pinarayi reasoned.
Pinaryi clarified he had made the vaccine announcement while answering to questions from mediapersons and there was no violation of the model code.
Polling is taking place in Malappurram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargode districts, while other 10 districts had polls on December 8 and 10.
Soon after casting his vote at his home town in Kozhikode district, state Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran said there was no doubt that they were going to have a crushing win.
"I say this with a lot of conviction because I had the chance to travel to all the 14 districts of the state four times and I can sense the pulse of the people that the vote would be against this Left government, which has lost all its bearings of governance.
"The sense of dejection is seen especially among the new generation, who are educated and after writing tests do not have jobs because this government has made backdoor appointments. We are going to have a crushing victory," Mullappally said.
State BJP president K.Surendran, who also cast his vote in Kozhikode said the BJP will do extremely well and it's just a matter of time to know that.
In the 2015 local body polls, the Left won around 60 per cent of the total seats, followed by the Congress, while the BJP won a mere 1,200 seats out of around 21,000 seats in three tiers of local bodies.
