Wayanad (Kerala), March 25 UDF candidate from the Mananthavady assembly seat, Usha Vijayan, on Wednesday, termed the recent allegations made by Congress leader and former minister P K Jayalakshmi, accusing a section of local party leaders of "internal sabotage," as "unwarranted."
Vijayan stated that, while such allegations should not have been made given the current situation, they have only served to further unite the UDF.
Jayalakshmi had on Tuesday made serious allegations against a group of local leaders within her own party, claiming that she had lost the previous elections due to their sabotage.
Speaking at a United Democratic Front (UDF) convention held in Vellamunda, ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls, she claimed that a section of party leaders had worked against her in the Mananthavady constituency in both the 2016 and 2021 Assembly elections.
Vijayan, speaking to a TV channel, said she was unaware of such an incident and had not examined whether the allegations were true or not.
"She (Jayalakshmi) mentioned an experience she had. I am not aware of any such thing and I have not examined whether it is correct or not. Nothing like that would happen this time.
"Her remarks will not be a setback, it will only serve to unite the UDF even more. She should not have said that (allegations) in the prevailing situation, but it has given an energy for uniting the UDF," Vijayan said.
When asked if she was confident that she would not be betrayed or sabotaged, Vijayan replied affirmatively.
She asserted that the UDF workers would function unitedly, and she would win by a margin greater than that achieved by Jayalakshmi in 2011.
Jayalakshmi had won by a margin of around 12,000 votes in 2011.
She had served as the Minister for Backward Welfare in the Oommen Chandy government.
She was defeated in Mananthavady in both 2016 and 2021 by LDF candidate and present minister O R Kelu, who is related to Vijayan.
Vijayan said there were only political differences between her and Kelu, and nothing personal.
She said that this time, the UDF would win from Mananthavady, as people were fed up with 10 years of LDF rule and were looking for a change.
She also said that if she had not entered politics, she would have tried for a normal government job.