Kannur: The CPM's decision to keep out LDF allies from the election review meetings being held in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kannur district has raised several eyebrows. Though the LDF allies are reportedly annoyed over their exclusion, they have stopped short of making their displeasure public.
The chief minister, who is currently camping in his native place Pinarayi, is taking part only in meetings convened by the CPM. Even though each panchayat has an LDF election committee, the meetings attended by the chief minister are out of bounds for the front constituents. Only the CPM workers are allowed to participate in the deliberations. This exclusion has triggered a debate in the panchayats in the midst of a hectic election campaign.
Many are questioning the impropriety in not involving the LDF constituents which have equal stakes in the political front that is in power in Kerala. While political parties do hold separate meetings at their level to evaluate election work, the impropriety of keeping out the allies from review meetings attended by the chief minister who heads the ruling front is glaring.
The CPM leaders, however, say that these meetings were planned by the party earlier. This explanation is not enough to counter doubts that the chief minister, a CPM veteran, is not taking LDF allies into confidence.
It is noteworthy that the allies have been kept out at a time when the opposition is accusing the chief minister of staying away from election campaign meetings. The opposition leaders say the chief minister was avoiding election meetings in the state as his presence would affect the candidates’ electoral prospects because of the gold smuggling case involving his office staff.
However, the CPM rebutts the charge saying he is not participating directly in the election campaigning as a precautionary step to avoid crowds and comply with the guidelines for controlling and fighting COVID.
The chief minister has so far attended the election meetings in the panchayats falling in his Assembly constituency Dharmadam and wards in Kannur corporation.
He returned to his native place last Sunday after a long gap of 286 days.
