Pinarayi Vijayan to lead LDF Assembly polls campaign, silent on his candidature

Pathanamthitta: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said he will personally lead the campaign for the Assembly elections. He did not clarify whether he would contest the elections. The Chief Minister was speaking at a CPM secretariat meeting in Pathanamthitta.

Although the LDF suffered a setback in the local body elections, the Chief Minister said the front would stage a strong comeback. He added that the ongoing house visits would help overcome the challenges and asserted that continuity in power was assured. CPM general secretary MA Baby had earlier also stated that the Chief Minister himself would lead the campaign. He said the team’s captain would be the Chief Minister, and that if the government continues in power, decisions regarding those in office would be taken then.

CPM’s seat-sharing discussions are set to begin in the first week of February. The results of the local body elections had dashed the party’s expectations of a strong victory. The house visits were launched to understand the reasons for the defeat and to find solutions to the issues. The government and the party are also considering making the Budget more people-centric before taking it to the electorate as part of the election campaign.

Republic Day message targets Centre
The Chief Minister also mounted a sharp attack on the Centre in his Republic Day message on Monday, warning that the spirit of the Constitution and democratic values were facing unprecedented challenges. Calling for unity, he urged people to defend secularism and federalism.

Extending Republic Day greetings, Vijayan said in a Facebook post that the occasion revived the proud memory of India becoming a sovereign, democratic republic, even as conscious attempts were being made to undermine the principles of secularism and federalism enshrined in the Constitution.

He said the Constitution was not merely a legal document, but the soul of the idea of India that celebrates diversity and guarantees equal justice. The chief minister said the occasion called for vigilance against forces attempting to weaken the vision of "unity in diversity" and impose a monolithic ideology.

"The federal concept of a strong Centre with empowered states is facing serious challenges. We should stand together against policies that aim to weaken federalism by curtailing the financial powers of states and turning constitutional institutions into political tools," he said.

Vijayan said Kerala’s alternative development models based on decentralisation of power and people’s participation provided strength to the struggle to protect constitutional values. Calling for renewed commitment to secularism and democracy, he said the politics of division must be countered with love and fraternity. "Let us move forward together in this struggle to protect India — for a New Kerala and a progressive India," he said.