BJP Keralam has lodged a complaint with the Chief Election Commissioner against V. Sivankutty, Education & Labour Minister and LDF candidate from the Nemom Assembly constituency, alleging violation of the model code of conduct in connection with the Assembly elections due in April.
The complaint follows the distribution of a ‘vote appeal’ bearing the State government logo, which the BJP terms a blatant violation of election rules. It states that such appeals have already been circulated and that Sivankutty influenced the electorate by misusing the official positions he holds. The complaint was filed by Adv. R.C. Prakash, BJP’s Legal-in-Charge for the Nemom Assembly constituency.
The BJP Keralam president Rajeev Chandrasekhar is contesting from Nemom constituency and is expected to win with flying colours. The seat holds a very special place in BJP Kerala politics, as earlier, O. Rajagopal, BJP leader and former Union Minister, was elected from this seat in 2016.
He defeated V. Sivankutty with a margin of 8,671 votes. Rajagopal bagged 67,813 votes, whereas V. Sivankutty got 59,142. UDF’s (Congress-led United Democratic Front) V. Surednran Pillai (JDU) got 13,860 votes, a poor third.
Now, the voters of this constituency are becoming conscious of the unfulfilled promises of both UDF and LDF, whom they trusted in 2021.
Earlier, to prevent BJP from reaching the Assembly, LDF and UDF had an unofficial secret pact and together targeted and cornered BJP with a single agenda to keep BJP away from power politics. BJP workers had alleged that UDF had shifted its votes in favour of LDF candidate V. Sivankutty to make sure that BJP’s MLA would not enter the Assembly.
Voters who are fed up with the non-performance of Sivankutty are all set to vote for Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who talks about development with clarity and a sense of responsibility.
As per sources, the ‘government-funded’ appeal seeks the support and cooperation of the people to materialise more developmental activities in Nemom. The appeal shows the official address of the minister. The appeal is allegedly printed at government expense.
