LJD sees CPI(M) betrayal in Kalpetta, Vadakara

Candidates had unsuccessfully contested from rival camp last time

Embarrassed by the outcome of the Assembly polls, the top leadership of the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) has pinned the blame on the local cadres of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] for the defeat of its candidates in Kalpetta and Vadakara Assembly segments. Apart from many factors that led to the loss of these two sitting seats of the Left Democratic Front, a senior functionary of the party said that the local CPI(M) workers had been dispirited by the candidacies of State president M.V. Shreyams Kumar and Kozhikode district president Manayath Chandran in Kalpetta and Vadakara respectively. Both had unsuccessfully contested from these constituencies as Janata Dal (United) nominees in the Congress-led United Democratic Front camp the last time. At the same time, former Minister K.P. Mohanan secured a victory margin of 9,541 votes in the Koothuparamba segment. He had lost the segment to Health Minister K.K. Shailaja by a margin of 12,291 votes in the 2016 Assembly polls. Interestingly, the margins of victory of CPI(M) nominee C. K. Saseendran and Janata Dal (Secular) leader C.K. Nanu in Kalpetta and Vadakara in the previous elections were 13,083 and 9,511 respectively.