UDF to unveil Thiruvananthapuram civic manifesto focused on water, roads and waste issues

Thiruvananthapuram : The United Democratic Front is preparing to release its manifesto for the Thiruvananthapuram corporation this week, as the local body election campaign moves into its second phase. Congress campaign chief K Muraleedharan said the document focuses on immediate civic priorities raised by residents, including drinking-water shortages, poor road conditions and gaps in waste management. He said the UDF chose to emphasise practical solutions instead of what he described as “high-tech promises”.

Muraleedharan said the UDF has been taking its pledges directly to households and that the manifesto follows the chargesheet the front issued against the LDF’s term in the corporation. The campaign, he said, would continue to highlight alleged governance failures at the local level while also addressing wider concerns within the state.

Raising allegations of voter list manipulation, he cited issues involving UDF Muttada candidate Vyshna Suresh and UDF’s Kozhikode mayoral aspirant V M Vinu. According to him, Vyshna’s attempts to correct errors in the electoral roll were rejected, prompting the KPCC to take up the matter at the state level. He noted that despite these difficulties, the candidates’ campaigns were progressing.

Muraleedharan also criticised BJP mayoral candidate R Sreelekha, saying her comments on the Kuthiyottam ritual associated with Attukal Pongala, her criticism of NSS institutions and her position on killing stray dogs would negatively affect her campaign as well as the party’s prospects. He levelled similar criticism at CPM mayoral candidate S P Deepak, alleging that he made disparaging remarks about the protest actions of ASHA workers.

Highlighting concerns about ward delimitation, Muraleedharan pointed to disparities between Beemapalli and Pangappara. The merging of Beemapalli South and East has created a ward with nearly 17,000 voters, while Pangappara contains roughly 3,000. He argued that uniform allocation of funds—for example, Rs 1 crore to each ward regardless of population—would result in unequal distribution of resources and disadvantage more densely populated areas.