Thiruvananthapuram: Jose K Mani of the Kerala Congress (M) faction is at the crossroads of his 16-year-old political career. In a milestone of sorts, he took part in a meeting of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) for the first time ever.
Jose K Mani, who is the Chairman of his party, and Stephen George, party General Secretary, attended the LDF leadership meet held at the CPM headquarters, AKG Centre, on Tuesday.
Jose K Mani thanked the alliance partners for inducting his faction into the CPM-led alliance.
LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan opined that the UDF has been completely weakened with the Kerala Congress (M) too exiting the Congress-led front.
“The LDF will put up a good performance in the upcoming local body polls. The religious fundamentalists of the UDF-BJP are fighting against the LDF. The UDF slogan 'one vote against corruption' is akin to ‘mocking’ oneself,” he added.
Jose K Mani’s faction was ousted from the Congress-led UDF following a long dispute over the post of the Kottayam district panchayat president.
Earlier in a bid to give an ideological colour to the move to join the LDF, Jose K Mani had said the Left front was successful in fighting communal forces. He also said that the party would keep protecting the interests of the farmers in the state.
LDF panel for social media campaign
The LDF meet also decided to be more politically active on social media in the wake of the COVID-19 restrictions for campaigning for the upcoming local body polls. An 11-member committee, led by convener Vijayaraghavan, was formed with representatives from all the LDF allies.
The LDF will present its election manifesto for the local body polls as soon as the nominations by candidates are filed.
The meet also decided to start ward- and panchayat-level conventions of the Left front.
