Good communists voted for UDF, says Satheesan

Good communists voted for the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the local body polls, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said.

Addressing a function organised by the Ernakulam District Congress Committee (DCC) to felicitate around 1,500 victorious UDF candidates from across the district on Monday, Mr. Satheesan said a majority of Left fellow travellers aligned with the UDF in the election. The UDF was not merely a collective of assorted political parties, and the success in the election was the victory of Team UDF.

The victory was also the result of people’s expectations of the UDF after losing hope in the CPI(M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF). Victory needs to be studied just as much as defeat. Only 70% of works conceived under Mission 25, formulated for the local body polls, could be completed, and the victory was not entirely along expected lines. The victorious people’s representatives should also stand firm with the party’s organisational work, Mr. Satheesan said.

Kerala needs comprehensive change. From January, the UDF is set to shift its focus to the Assembly elections by drawing up a slew of projects to rescue the economically devastated government, introduce various healthcare initiatives, and reform the higher education sector to curb the migration of youngsters. The UDF is approaching the Assembly elections with confidence and well-prepared plans to ensure its return to power with over 100 seats. Mr. Satheesan claimed that the UDF would sweep all 14 Assembly constituencies in the district.

Presiding over the function, DCC president Muhammed Shiyas cautioned activists against being overjoyed by the election victory. The aim now is to win all the 14 Assembly constituencies in the district, and workers must put in sustained efforts to achieve it, he said.

The Congress learned its lessons from the defeat in the last Assembly elections, and the unprecedented unity and hard work by Congress and UDF workers helped secure a victory that even bettered the one achieved in 2010, Mr. Shiyas said.