Was there a conspiracy to defeat VS?

By Our Staff Reporter

PALAKKAD, MAY 14. A close look at the election results in Malampuzha shows that the forces that worked against Mr. V.S. Achuthanandan in Mararikkulam in the 1996 Assembly election were active in Malampuzha too.

The CPI(M)'s lowest ever margin in Malampuzha on account of the unexpected leakage of votes in different panchayats, considered as the party strongholds, indicates that there were attempts to get him defeated here too. There were undercurrents that worked in Malampuzha giving rise to the allegation that there was a well-planned conspiracy by a section which is opposed to Mr. Achuthanandan in the party.

The party is collecting minute details of the cause of this shocking set back. Heads will roll in the CPI(M) if the involvement of any district or State leader is proved.

Mr. Achuthanandan won the Malampuzha seat with a shockingly low margin of 4,703 votes.

In the first four rounds of counting, the CPI(M) politburo member was trailing behind the Congress candidate, Mr. Satheeshan Pacheni. Not only did his margin come down alarmingly, but he also got less votes than Mr. T. Sivadasa Menon, CPI(M) candidate for Malampuzha in 1996, and Mr. N.N. Krishnadas (CPI-M) in the 1999 Lok Sabha election.

In the 1996 Assembly election, Mr. Menon won the seat with a huge margin of 18,799 votes. In the 1999 Lok Sabha election, the CPI(M) candidate, Mr. N.N. Krishandas, won by a margin of 17,000 votes in this Assembly segment.

Mr. Menon had received 54,333 votes but Mr. Achuthanandan got only 53,661 votes this time. In the 1999 Lok Sabha election, Mr. N.N. Krishnadas received 55,419 votes. The party had improved its position during the last panchayat election in Malampuzha by winning seven of the eight panchayats.

The election campaign of Mr. Achuthanandan was led by Mr. A. Prabhakaran, district president of the CITU. But in the industrial belt of Kanjikkode-Pudussery in Pudussery panchayat, the LDF candidate got 602 votes less than the UDF.

In another party bastion in Puduppariyaram panchayat, the LDF candidate had a lead of just 126 votes. Peruvambu panchayat which used to give huge leads for the party candidates, this time the LDF lead was merely 1,074 votes. In the Polppully panchayat too, the lead was only 1,670 votes.

There were reports that a section of the CITU was working against 21 candidates of the CPI(M) in the State. Mr. Achuthanandan topped their hit list. The CITU has considerable influence in Pudussery panchayat where the Kanjikkode-Pudussery industrial belt is located in the Malampuzha constituency.

The violence in the industrial belt, the attack on some of the industrial units like Pepsi Cola by the CITU and failure to take action against the culprits created an anti-LDF wave among the workers and industrialists. The stagnation in the industrial sector may have worked against the LDF.

The retrenchment of 150 temporary local workers of the Malabar Cements Limited at Walayar and the recruitment of 100 persons mainly from outside also created resentment. Failure to take action against some of the corrupt officials in the Malabar Cements Limited and the stopping of Vigilance cases against some top company officials had brought disrepute to the LDF Government. All these seem to have influenced the results in Malampuzha.

Moreover, a section of CPI(M) workers were reportedly inactive in Malampuzha and suspicion fell on the sitting MLA, Mr. T. Sivadasa Menon, who was not active in the campaign here in this election.

The supporters of Mr. Achuthanandan said that the BJP had voted for the UDF in Malampuzha. UDF circles admit that some BJP supporters may have voted for Mr. Pacheni but there was no transfer of BJP votes in Malampuzha as such.

There were also rumours of secret meetings held in Palakkad in which some CITU leaders from outside the district participated. A top party leader reportedly participated in one such meeting.

The new liquor policy of the LDF and the liquor lobby may have worked against Mr. Achuthanandan.

Information from sources said that the intelligence wing had reported that 40 per cent of the rank and file of the CPI(M) was not active in Malampuzha initially. Though this situation changed later, one section remained indifferent. Mr. Achuthanadan had conducted the campaign very systematically plugging all loopholes to prevent any sabotage from within.

Party sources said that a detailed analysis of the election reverses including the fall in party votes in Malampuzha is being examined.

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Section  : State Elections
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