By TwoCircles.net Correspondent,
Kollam: The People’s Democratic Party will contest alone in the up-coming local body elections in Kerala, informed the party working chairman Poonthura Siraj. Meanwhile, the LDF stated that it would consider cooperating with the PDP if the latter proved its unflinching policy towards secularism.
PDP working chairman Poonthura Siraj announced yesterday that the party would contest in all seats alone, along with making adjustments with any in local levels for the victory of PDP candidates. The party would contest in the symbol of ‘Thoni’ (a small boat). The candidates would be announced in two days. The party has already formed district-level monitoring committees with district presidents and secretaries as office-bearers. He added that neither of the alliances had approached the party in connection with the elections. However, he said, the PDP would continue its conditional support to the LDF Government. Mr Siraj also said that cruel efforts were on to deny justice to Maudany and that even the judiciary was being misunderstood with government interventions. The PDP would organize human rights conferences centred in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kasargode.
Meanwhile, the LDF has sought a certificate of secularism from the PDP for any cooperation with the party in elections. LDF convener Vaikkom Vishvan said that the LDF had not decided whether to ask the votes of anybody or not. However, it didn’t need the votes of terrorists and extremists, said LDF convener Vaikkom Vishvan. He was talking at the face-to-face organized by the Kottayam Press Club. He explained the front’s cooperation with the party as this: The LDF cooperated with the PDP as the latter had changed their extremist policies. But later it was analysed as anti-secular and the CPI (M) central committee analysed the cooperation was wrong. However, there is no decision that there won’t be any cooperation at all with the PDP.
The PDP, founded by Abdunnasir Maudany in 1993, had cooperated with the LDF most of the times since the party’s formation, but for a small stint when Maudany was in jail in connection with the 1998 Coimbatore blasts. The party had given complete support to the LDF in the last general elections which came after the release of Maudany from the Coimbatore jail in 2007 August. CPI (M) state general secretary Pinarayi Vijayan shared stage with Maudany during one of the election campaigns which invited huge criticism from other parties (including those in the LDF) as well as the mainstream media in the state. However, the good relations got a small pause when the LDF faced a bad defeat in the elections. Dr Hussain Randathani, said to be the candidate of Maudany, who contested in Ponnani constituency was defeated in a huge margin by ET Muhammed Basheer of the Muslim League. Though the CPI (M) state leadership did not talk against Maudany, the central leadership analysed that the cooperation was not right.
The arrest of Maudany for his alleged involvement in the Bengaluru blast was indeed a test for the ruling LDF government headed by the CPI (M). The Karnataka police arrested Maudany on August 17 with the cooperation of the Kerala police, after days of uncertainties and speculation. However, there are allegations that the government has not made things clear about the B category security provided to Maudany after his release from Coimbatore prison and that the tour diary of Maudany was prepared by the police only. Now, four policemen who were in charge of Maudany’s security are under scanner of the Bengaluru police and have been interrogated.