Political scuffle is high at Kerala as by-polls are near. With by-polls for two Assembly seats in Kerala scheduled to be held along with Bihar elections in November, hectic parleys have begun in the ruling LDF, opposition UDF and BJP about the choice of candidates and poll policy. Coming as it is, ahead of the crucial Assembly elections slated for early next year, the by-elections are seen by many as a referendum on the CPM led government’s four and half-year performance.
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The Chavara and Kuttanad seats fell unoccupied following the demise of sitting MLAs N Vijayan Pillai of CMP and Thomas Chandy of NCP respectively. Both belonged to the ruling LDF. The LDF has all along maintained that it would seek people's commission for the development activities undertaken during its management.
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As the by-elections are taking close on the heels of the gold smuggling case, alleged corruption in the construction of houses under Life Mission, the Congress-led UDF is keen to go to the people on these issues besides raising the alleged failures of the government. In the 2016 Assembly polls, Mr. Chandy won the Kuttanad seat by a margin of 4819 votes. While the LDF has decided to field Mr. Chandy’s brother Thomas K Thomas, the UDF is yet to take a call regarding its candidate. The vertical split in Kerala Congress (M) which contested the seat in 2016, is also a major cause of worry for the UDF.