Malappuram: Amid the ongoing probe into the rape case against expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil, Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan on Saturday said that the LDF’s attempts to highlight the sexual assault allegations would not derail the UDF’s local body election campaign. He asserted that the UDF has not deviated from its poll strategy and claimed that the public is more concerned about issues such as the Sabarimala gold scam than the topics raised by the ruling front.

Expressing confidence about the upcoming polls, Satheesan said the UDF is poised to win eight to nine district panchayats and four of the six municipal corporations. One more corporation is witnessing a tight contest, he added. According to him, the UDF’s manifesto and the detailed chargesheet against the government are being widely discussed across Kerala.

“The allegations related to the Sabarimala gold theft have triggered an active public debate. Strong pressure is being exerted on the SIT, causing a slowdown in the investigation over the past few days. If the probe had progressed normally, the interrogation of Kadakampally Surendran and other procedures would have been completed by now,” Satheesan said.

Though the SIT was formed by the High Court, its members are state police officials, making it easier for political influence to affect the investigation, he alleged.

Clarifying the UDF’s stance on the Welfare Party of India, which is backed by Jamaat-e-Islami, Satheesan reiterated that the UDF has no official alliance with the party and that only local-level arrangements exist. He accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of twisting facts by suggesting that the UDF is aligned with Jamaat-e-Islami, pointing out that the organisation had supported the CPM from 1977 until 2019 — a span of more than four decades.