LDF hopeful despite exit poll findings

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 11. The LDF leadership is optimistic about a good showing by the ruling coalition in the Assembly poll despite the adverse findings in the exit poll telecast by Doordarshan on conclusion of polling on Thursday.

Most of the LDF leaders are out of town, but they have been in touch with each other since last evening and the general feeling is that the front would defy the predictions of the pollsters. One stumbling block to the LDF's progress that the leaders see is the massive transfer of BJP votes to the UDF.

In several constituencies, the BJP activists had openly worked for the UDF candidates on the polling day and this showed that the BJP-RSS strategy was to ensure the defeat of the LDF at any cost, LDF leaders said.

In their reckoning, the BJP decision on vote transfer would have serious consequences in the days to come. While some of them see this as possible licence for the BJP-RSS combine unleash violence, others felt that the joining of forces by the BJP and PDP in many places would see resurgence of violent communalism in the State. Their immediate goal of may have been only the defeat of the LDF at the hustings, but they would shortly go for each others' throat thereby creating serious problems on the law and order front, the LDF leaders believe.

The LDF leaders do not think that the trends in the various constituencies followed a similar pattern. In several places, many constituency-specific factors had come into operation towards the polling day. This would have influenced the voting behaviour of large chunks of voters and could have a definite bearing on the outcome, they feel.

In the estimation of the CPI(M), the ruling front would secure 75 to 85 seats in the election. The CPI(M) State secretariat said in a statement here today that the party had arrived at this conclusion after evaluating the front's campaigning and the voting figures. The party also termed as "absolutely unrealistic" the exit poll prediction that the UDF would get a two-thirds majority.

The CPI(M) secretariat pointed out that BJP and PDP had openly solicited votes for the Congress-led UDF. The duo had also unleashed violence in several places. Activists of the BJP murdered the CPI(M) Thillankeri local committee member Vijayan on polling day for the UDF. The UDF-BJP-PDP combine had also attacked LDF candidates in several places.

The party strongly condemned such attacks, but at the same time congratulated the LDF cadres who had observed restraint in the face of such provocations. All attempts at fomenting trouble on polling day had failed, it said.

The CPI(M) secretariat also termed ``unjustifiable'' the deletion of about 12 lakh names from the voters' list and said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. A.K. Antony's statement that this had been done by the LDF Government with ulterior motives was too frivolous. Would the Congress leader say that the CPI(M) politburo member, Mr. S. Ramachandran Pillai's name was also deleted deliberately by the Nayanar Government, the CPI(M) secretariat asked.

The RSP State secretary, Prof. T.J. Chandrachoodan, also was confident of an LDF win, the predictions in the Doordarshan exit poll notwithstanding. Reports from different parts of the State suggest that the LDF would stand its ground in north Kerala and might gain a few seats in the south, he said.

The LDF leaders are likely to converge here by tomorrow and the day after. The CPI(M) State secretariat is scheduled to meet here on Monday to take stock of the poll results.

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Section  : State Elections
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