Kerala Assembly poll outcome a rejection of communal polarisation attempts: Venugopal

Alappuzha(Kerala): Congress general secretary and one of the contenders for the CM post, K C Venugopal, on Tuesday said that the Assembly poll results in Kerala were a repudiation of the communal polarisation attempts by some forces and a rejection of the decade-long "political arrogance and alleged misgovernance" by the LDF.

Venugopal also termed the BJP's victories in West Bengal and Assam as not a genuine verdict, alleging that they were achieved through unfair practices that would prevent any opposition party from winning there.

He claimed that the BJP wanted to do it in the entire country, and that is why it brought the Delimitation Bill, which was unitedly rejected by the opposition.


Also Read: Kerala polls: 'People rejected 10 years of misrule', says AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal


Regarding the poll outcome in Kerala, Venugopal said that it was a big message to those attempting communal polarisation in the state that such efforts will not bear fruit.

He said that the mature electorate of Kerala were adept at identifying suitable candidates and prioritised the state's welfare and party ideologies above religion or caste.

"This maturity is evident in instances where candidates, such as V S Joy from Tanur and Mohammed Shias from Kochi, secured victories with substantial support from voters of all religions," he said while speaking to reporters here.

The people rejected the communal rhetoric of leaders like SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan who have been supporting the LDF, the Congress general secretary said.

He further said that the poll outcome was also "a rejection of the decade-long political arrogance and alleged misgovernance by the LDF".

"The Marxist party needs to realise that its path was wrong and should be ready to correct it," Venugopal contended.

Also Read: Congress MP KC Venugopal files privilege notice against PM Modi in Lok Sabha over ‘aspersions’


Regarding who would be the chief minister, he said that the Congress has a well-established internal procedure for that, and a decision will be taken soon.

The UDF won 102 seats, while the CPI(M)-headed LDF netted 35 seats, according to Election Commission data on counting of votes for 140 constituencies.