Malappuram: KPCC president Sunny Joseph has said that PV Anvar is expected to become an associate member of the United Democratic Front (UDF) ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. Anvar has already declared his support for the UDF in the local body polls.

Formal discussions on inducting him, along with other groups, into the front will be held after the elections. Joseph remarked that “no matter how sweet a 'payasam' becomes, it is never a problem,” suggesting that adding more allies would only strengthen the UDF.

He alleged that there is a political conspiracy behind the Enforcement Directorate’s investigation against Anvar and added that Anvar has the strength to face it. He clarified that the UDF has no official alliance with the Welfare Party in the local body elections.

Joseph said that the gold heist and the rise in prices will be major issues in the upcoming elections. He was speaking at the Malappuram Press Club’s Meet the Leader event. According to him, the UDF has already presented a clear chargesheet against the state government.

Referring to the Sabarimala gold theft, he alleged that the CPM first attempted to dismiss the incident, then sought to downplay it, and eventually admitted that a lapse had occurred. He said the government tried to shift the blame onto officials, but the High Court’s strong intervention led to the formation of a special investigation team, which has now implicated CPM leaders.

Joseph claimed that emerging evidence indicates that senior CPM leaders were the key conspirators behind the theft. He said the stolen gold, worth several crores of rupees, has still not been recovered. He alleged that there was undue hesitation to arrest major CPM leaders and that police officers were dissuaded from adding more suspects to the case.

He said the incident shows that CPM leaders not only steal public property but also attempt to justify such acts, and added that the public will view this as a major issue in the forthcoming elections.