CM Pinarayi Vijayan: Congress and UDF Have Always Engaged in Deals with BJP

Idukki: The allegation made by Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan that there is a CPI(M)-BJP deal in the election is strange, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He remarked that such deals are being claimed for all constituencies, and wondered if similar claims will be made for Dharmadam tomorrow. He questioned whether the allegation of a deal in Palakkad is due to the fact that a Muslim candidate is contesting from the Left Democratic Front (LDF). The Chief Minister stated that it is not difficult for the opposition to raise baseless and unfounded accusations. He further claimed that the UDF and Congress have always formed alliances with the BJP.

He stressed that neither CPI(M) nor LDF have ever aligned with the BJP at any point. CPI(M) and the Left are the BJP's biggest enemies, and the RSS sees Muslims, Christians, and Communists as their primary enemies. According to the Chief Minister, the BJP has always had the upper hand in dealing with Congress, but it is different with the Left. He went on to add that during this election, the Congress will likely have several deals in their agenda, and it is this fact that fuels the accusations against LDF.

The Chief Minister continued by saying that it was Congress and the UDF that have always engaged in dealings with the BJP. He reminded that in 1991, when A.K. Gopalan contested in the Parliament, both Congress and RSS had a common candidate. The Congress has long been aligning with the RSS, and this fact has never been hidden. He referred to other historical instances like when Congress allied with the Janata Party in Pattambi during the EMS election and later with the RSS in Vadakara and Beypore. The RSS leader K.G. Marar had exposed this connection. The BJP had even raised questions publicly about the UDF's support in 41 constituencies.

In 2016, the BJP's victory in the Nenmam constituency was due to Congress votes, and in the adjacent constituency, the victory of the Congress leader was aided by BJP's support. The Chief Minister noted that in the 2021 elections, the LDF had declared it would "close the BJP's account" in Nenmam, which indeed happened, with LDF's V. Shivankutty winning. Similarly, in the Thrissur Parliament election, the Congress votes went to the BJP. He argued that this collusion continued in the local body elections as well.

The Chief Minister also pointed out that in the 2021 elections, both Congress and BJP united against the LDF with a common purpose. He reminded that in those elections, central agencies were used to spread false narratives, which the people of Kerala have not forgotten. He claimed that all these facts are the present-day reality.

Lastly, the Chief Minister referred to the instance when Congress's national leader K.C. Venugopal resigned from his Rajya Sabha seat to contest the Lok Sabha elections, which indirectly helped the BJP win. He stated that the BJP had fewer members in the Rajya Sabha, and this resignation boosted their numbers. He described this as another form of deal by Congress.