Kerala CM confident of big victory with more seats in 2026 Assembly polls in state
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday expressed confidence of a big LDF win in the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, claiming that the Left Front will get more seats this time round.
Vijayan's confident assertion came during a press conference here in response to reporters' queries regarding the LDF claim that it will win 110 seats this time. It had won 99 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections.
"We have reason to be confident. We expect the people to again vote the LDF to power, with more seats than last time," he contended.
The CM said the circumstances behind the Left Front's loss in the recent civic polls were different and would not affect the outcome of the Assembly elections.
He said that while voting in the Assembly polls, people would not just take into account their experiences during the last one or five years of Left rule, but the last 10 years of LDF administration and will compare it with the situation that was prevalent before that.
"That comparison will significantly influence their decision as the state has achieved a lot in the last 10 years of Left rule," Vijayan claimed.
Giving details of the achievements under the Left rule, he said that it was during the LDF administration that Kerala got the distinction of being the state with the least corruption when the same was rampant across the country.
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This was achieved due to the policies adopted by the LDF government, he contended.
"Similar astonishing changes have been witnessed in various sectors, including education and health, in the state. So, the people will take a decision based on their collective experience during the last 10 years and not as per the propaganda of the opposition," the CM asserted.
When asked whether the LDF's claims of winning 110 seats were based on any survey like that carried out for the Congress-led UDF by poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu, Vijayan said, "We don't have any Kanugolu. The people are our Kanugolu."
The people will not be swayed by such surveys and will take a decision based on their experiences, he reiterated.
Earlier in the day, state Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas claimed that the LDF would win 110 of the 140 assembly seats according to the deliberations during a special cabinet meeting held a day ago.
The interventions required to be made by each minister in the respective districts assigned to them were examined in the meeting, and a clear picture was arrived at on how to proceed further, Riyas told reporters in Kozhikode.
"As per the deliberations, we are confident of winning all of the 13 Assembly seats in Kozhikode district," he added. The Congress-led UDF opposition had recently claimed that it would win 100 of the 140 assembly seats in the upcoming polls.
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Indore collector draws flak for visiting RSS office; Cong calls him ‘BJP worker’
Indore (PTI): The Congress has criticised the collector of Indore for visiting the local office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, dubbing him a “BJP worker.
Indore, Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital and the country’s cleanest city for almost a decade now, is in the news for seven deaths due to water contamination in its Bhagirathpura area.
Collector Shivam Verma is “working like a BJP worker”, MP Congress president Jitu Patwari said on Thursday.
Verma, along with Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav, had visited the “Sudarshan” office in Pant Vaidya Colony here on Wednesday night and discussed various issues, including the Bhagirathpura contaminated water tragedy, with RSS Malwa prant pracharak Raj Mohan Singh, claimed Patwari.
Pictures and videos of the visit went viral on social media.
“Bhargav took Verma to the RSS office. The collector has shown he is not an administrative officer. He is working as a BJP member. If you go to the offices of political parties while on duty, remember, Congress workers will correct your working style,” Patwari said while addressing his colleagues in Sanwer.
“The collector should be working in his office, meeting with the chief secretary, and discussing matters with ministers and officials. People are dying in Indore, there is contaminated water everywhere, and the level of corruption is unimaginable. However, the collector is not working. He is going to the RSS office to mark his attendance for the BJP,” Patwari alleged.
Verma could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.
Amid claims by residents that 17 persons died due to water contamination, the MP government distributed compensation to 18 affected families on Tuesday.
Patwari himself had put the death toll at 20 in an X post.
Meanwhile, state minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who sparked a row with his remarks on the water contamination deaths, on Thursday held discussions with the BJP’s organisation general secretary Hitanand Sharma at the party office here.
Vijayvargiya did not speak to reporters after the discussion with Sharma.
Some leaders said Vijayvargiya had come to the state office as part of the regular programme for ministers to listen to the problems of party workers. Vijayvargiya also listened to the problems of the workers under this programme, they added.
Vijayvargiya, the state urban development minister, had landed in controversy for using objectionable language on camera regarding the Indore water-related incident.
After facing sharp criticism, he had expressed regret for his remarks. Bhagirathpura is part of Vijayvargiya's Indore-1 assembly constituency.
