Person who is most worried over decrease of BJP votes in Palakkad is Pinarayi Vijayan: VD Satheesan

Kochi: The person who is most worried about the decrease in the number of votes for the BJP in the byelection in Palakkad is Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said Opposition Leader VD Satheesan. The votes cast in favor of Rahul Mamkootathil in this election were the same votes that had gone in favor of BJP candidate E. Sreedharan in the previous election. Speaking to reporters in Kochi on Monday, Satheesan asked, "How could anyone claim that all these votes belong to SDPI and Jamaat-e-Islami?"

“What the CPM achieved in Palakkad is merely retaining their third position. Now, they claim that there is an increase of 900 votes compared to 2021. Since 2021, 15,000 additional votes have been cast in the Palakkad assembly constituency. Don’t they have a share in these additional votes?” Satheesan asked. “We can see that CPM has not made any considerable progress in Palakkad. To cover up this embarrassment, CPM keeps on saying that Rahul Mamkootathil’s victory was made possible with the support of SDPI,” Satheesan said.

“A major chunk of the votes that went to BJP and E. Sreedharan were polled in favor of Rahul this time. Are they now saying that the votes E. Sreedharan got in 2021 were from SDPI and Jamaat-e-Islami? CPM should realize that they have been pushed down to a miserable third place in Palakkad. In Chelakkara, we substantially reduced their victory margin. And in Wayanad, they lost 75,000 votes. Still, they keep claiming that there was no anti-incumbency factor. If they believe that, let them,” Satheesan added.

“How many scandals occurred in Palakkad during this election, like the letter issue, trolley bag controversy, midnight drama, and many others to tarnish our reputation? All those things backfired on them. Rahul had not held any discussions with SDPI leaders. People might have taken photos with the candidate during the election campaign,” he said.

“Now, Pinarayi is lashing out strongly against Jamaat-e-Islami. I can show you a picture of Pinarayi posing with the amir of Jamaat-e-Islami. Congress always takes a secular stance. During the final days of the campaign, the LDF flared up communal sentiments by publishing an election ad in two newspapers, leaving even the Sangh Parivar ashamed,” Satheesan concluded. He also stated that he takes responsibility for the defeat of the UDF candidate in Chelakkara.