Kannur (Keralam) [India], March 30 : The United Democratic Front (UDF) has alleged that Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers attacked its election campaign activities in Taliparamba and Dharmadam in Kannur on Monday.
In Taliparamba, the campaign vehicle of UDF-backed independent candidate TK Govindan was reportedly attacked at Malappattam Central. According to reports, CPI (M) workers blocked the LED displays of the campaign vehicle before carrying out the attack. TK Govindan had earlier this month quit the CPI (M) in protest over the decision to field CPI(M) State Secretary P K Shyamala from Taliparamba, after which he was expelled from the party.
Meanwhile, in Dharmadam, CPI (M) workers allegedly attempted to assault UDF candidate VP Abdul Rasheed. The incident took place at Muzhappala Kaithapram near Ancharakandi on Sunday, where the vehicle was reportedly stopped under the leadership of a CPM worker named Liju, followed by an attempt to manhandle the candidate.
An attack was also reported on Abdul Rasheed's campaign vehicle.
Dharmadam is the home constituency of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who is seeking a mandate for the third time.
This comes ahead of the polls for the Keralam Assembly, which will be held in a single phase on April 9, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4. The tenure of the current assembly is set to conclude on May 23. The polling would be done under strict guidelines issued by the ECI under the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which came into effect in all poll-bound regions after the election schedule was announced.
The Congress-led UDF seek to unseat the incumbent Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF and gain control of the 140-member assembly. The LDF-led government has governed the state for around a decade. Around 2.7 crore electors are expected to participate in the election.
Following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state electoral roll, the final voter list for Kerala was released on February 21. The revised roll includes 2,69,53,644 voters--1,31,26,048 male voters, 1,38,27,319 female voters, and 227 third-gender voters. Among them, 4,24,518 voters belong to the 18-19 age group.