Thiruvananthapuram, March 16 The ruling CPI (M), which announced the majority of its candidates shortly after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule, mocked the opposition Congress on Monday over its continued delay in finalizing candidates.
Speaking to the media, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said the ruling party is still struggling to finalize candidates and announce its list, even though the Left candidates have already launched their campaigns.
"Their infighting to finalize the candidates is still going on. They are still struggling to decide on their candidates. Even if they make a decision, it will take them some time to proceed," Govindan alleged.
He also mocked Congress veteran K Sudhakaran's adamant demand to contest in the Assembly election, saying the former KPCC president was "crying" for a seat.
"Many others in the Congress party are also facing a similar situation. They are also vying for the chief ministerial position," he further alleged.
He also claimed that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) would come to power for the third consecutive term, writing a new chapter in the state's politics.
However, senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan rejected the criticism and clarified that there is not much confusion and differences within the party as portrayed by the media.
"There is no confusion in the Congress and the UDF. Our list of candidates will be released soon. We had expected the polling date to be April 21. That is why there was a delay in finalizing the list. The discussions with the front partners have already been completed," he said.
The UDF candidates will be fully active in their respective constituencies by Tuesday, he said.
He also rejected the ruling LDF's claim that they would have an advantage in the polls, as they had announced the candidates much earlier.
Muraleedharan recalled that the LDF was the first to announce the candidates during the last Lok Sabha polls. But the Congress-led UDF had a remarkable victory then.
The LDF had announced the candidates two weeks ahead of the UDF in the 2001 assembly polls, he said.
"But, during that election, the UDF had won the most number of seats," the leader added.
Kerala will go to the Assembly polls on April 9, along with Assam and Puducherry in the first phase.