Following the rejection of their nomination, BJP candidates from Thalasseri (N Haridas), and Guruvayur (Adv Nivedita) will approach the High Court today. The candidates’ counsel has requested a special sitting to hear the case, and the Court will hear the petition this afternoon.
BJP’s Kannur president N Haridas’ nomination was rejected by the officials citing improper Form A, which should have been signed by party national president JP Nadda allowing the candidate the use of the party symbol. Allegedly, while Haridas had requested more time to file a new Form A, the official “unilaterally rejected the proposal”. Moreover, with the dummy candidate rejected as well, the party seems to have no hold in Thalasseri, which would have seen a tough competition since the saffron party enjoys good support there. Meanwhile, Guruvayur BJP candidate Nivedita’s nomination was rejected due to the lack of signature by the state president K Surendran. The national leadership had taken note of the incident and they have noted that Surendran’s misgivings, if any, will be probed as well.
While allegations abound following the incident, today, Health Minister KK Shailaja said that the Co-Le-B (Congress-League-BJP) conspiracy is suspected in the Thalasseri candidate’s rejection. Shailaja said that nomination papers are submitted after being checked several times and it was unnatural for such mistakes to be made in them. It seems that the petition was submitted thinking that it would never be right, she added. Shailaja also told that she had heard of Congress and BJP voting together in the same place in the past.
On the other hand, in all three constituencies, the incumbent is from the LDF. KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran claimed that it is evident to the CPM-BJP nexus in Kerala. “The Sangh Parivar and CPM are holding friendly tie-ups in various locations in the assembly elections. Moreover, the BJP is buying votes from across the state,” he said while speaking to media persons. “The BJP has fielded very weak candidates in many constituencies where CPM leaders are contesting. The left party took a similar stance as well. The CPM is playing dangerous politics and is looking for a shortcut with communal forces to retain power,” he added.
Kannur CPM secretary MV Jayarajan claimed that it was evidence for the Congress-BJP tie-up. “While the BJP leadership had provided proper forms to all other candidates in Kannur, it is suspicious that they failed to provide one to the district president. They can follow it legally, but they can’t make us believe that all of it was an innocent mistake,” he said, adding that the situation read with the Congress scenario in Dharmadom is evidence of their nexus. “The Congress had claimed that they would field a strong candidate against Pinarayi Vijayan in Dharmadom. While news about Sudhakaran contesting emerged, he denied the ordeal and the party fielded an irrelevant candidate,” Jayarajan added.
