A cutout of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was destroyed at Mambarath, Kannur, last night. The large size cutout was discovered with its head cut off. The police have launched an investigation into the matter. Kannur CPM district secretary MV Jayarajan has condemned the action. The CPM has alleged that the RSS are behind the act.
Meanwhile in Vadakara, Kozhikode, the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) has irked the Left Democratic Front (LDF) with the use of images of former Chief Minister and senior CPM leader VS Achuthanandan with RMP Vaddakara candidate KK Rema, widow of slain RMP leader TP Chandrasekharan. The LDF has filed a complaint with the Election Commission against the use of the images as part of RMP’s campaign material. The complaint also pointed out that the images had CPM leader MK Kelu too. The returning officer says he has been instructed to look into the matter.
TP Chandrasekharan was hacked to death by CPM activists in 2012. Achuthanandan had then demanded immediate changes in the state leadership and to constitute an ad hoc committee, failing which would result him relinquishing his position as leader of the opposition in the state assembly. He had also supported Rema's demand for a CBI probe into the conspiracy angle in the TP Chandrasekharan murder case, hinting several times that the party leadership was involved in the murder of TP Chandrasekharan. He said, "Rema's demand for a CBI probe was just and everyone should respect the opinion of the poor widow." Chandrasekharan was a follower of Achuthanandan before he left CPM. The CPM party however, is supposed to have slammed Achuthanandan for his support towards Rema.
Political analysts claim that the Left party feels the use of the images could affect their vote count in the Kerala Assembly election.
The 140-member Kerala Assembly election will be held on April 6 and the counting will happen on May 2.
