LDF and UDF hold high-level meetings ahead of Lok Sabha polls

The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front held their leadership meetings ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due later this year. The LDF, which had added four more parties, including the Kerala Congress (B) led by R Balakrishna Pillai, to its fold last year, Thursday decided to organise a "Kerala March" covering all the 140 assembly constituencies in the state.

The UDF meet witnessed demands for more seats by the alliance partners, including Kerala Congress (M) and Kerala Congress (Jacob). Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, 12 were won by the UDF and the remaining 8 by the LDF in the 2014 polls. LDF convenor Vijayaraghavan said the front would organise two marches-one each from the northern and southern parts.

"CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will lead the march from Thiruvananthapuram and CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran will head the march from the north. Both the rallies will culminate at Thrissur on March 2," he told reporters. Vijayaraghavan said the aim of the marches was to bring down the Narendra Modi government. Communist veteran V S Achuthanandan was not present in the LDF meet and sources close to the party said he was unhappy with the inclusion of Pillai's party into the Front.

Achuthanandan was instrumental in pursuing the corruption case against Pillai leading to his conviction. In the UDF, KC(M), in addition to its Kottayam seat, has now staked a claim for the Idukki constituency too, which was also sought by the KC (Jacob) group. Kottayam seat is now vacant after the sitting member Jose K Mani was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. "This was the first meeting before the elections. It's not time to decide about asking for more seats," Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader and MP P K Kunhalikutty told media after the meet. The UDF meeting has also decided not to consider the letter of Poonjar MLA and former Kerala Congress leader P C George expressing his desire to join the front.