Former Kerala Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy took a shot at the present CM Pinarayi Vijayan and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) over the “Captain” controversy.
“There is no leadership issues in Congress party. The United Democratic Front (UDF) does not have a custom of appointing a “Captain”. The people will decide who will be the captain. We have only joint leadership,” Chandy said.
The former CM also added that the Kerala Assembly election is a contest between the UDF and LDF and not a triangular contest with the BJP.
“BJP’s high octane campaign will not turn into votes. The Prime Minister is talking about the Sabarimala issue but has no clue how to resolve the issue. Despite having power, they do not show any commitment on the Sabarimala issue,” the senior Congress leader said.
Chandy also said the UDF is brimming with confidence as the Assembly election campaigning ends today. “The UDF is brewing with confidence throughout Kerala with the elections nearing. The public continues to talk about the failures of the LDF government in the past 5 years and the challenges faced by them,” he said.
Earlier, Kannur CPM secretary P Jayarajan said that the party is the ‘Captain’ and not an individual. In his Facebook, he reminded everyone that communists are not fascinated by idol worship and reminded everyone of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s statement that everyone is a comrade and that the party is the captain.
Interestingly, P Jayarajan had faced action from the party’s state leadership, supported by Pinarayi Vijayan, after party workers had released a song in Jayarajan’s name. The latter’s latest Facebook post seems to be targeting the Chief Minister. “When people are close, they show affection in many ways. Some people like to write songs, some people like to have photos; some people like to get tattoos. However, communists are not fond of personal worship. As comrade Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told media persons, ‘everyone is comrades’ in this party. The party is the captain.”
Meanwhile, CPM Acting Secretary A Vijayaraghavan expressed his support for calling Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan a captain. He claimed that Pinarayi is an experienced leader and that the people like him. People who admire him as a chief minister give him such titles and it is recognition of his achievements, Vijayaraghavan added.
On the other hand, while election rallies in Kerala, CPM Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat had said that people call him captain. “Pinarayi Vijayan might be a captain to the people, but to us, he is a comrade. The CPM doesn’t believe in things such as captain, commander, high command,” she said.
On the other hand, reacting over the ‘captain’ row, former state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that Pinarayi Vijayan is not playing any role as captain in CPM.
