Kochi, 27 December(HS): Though the BJP-led NDA has emerged as the single largest entity in many municipal and panchayat councils in Kerala following the elections held to the Local Self Government Institutions in the State, the joy may not last long. The possibility of the CPI(M) and the Congress-led fronts (LDF & UDF) coming together to ensure that the Hindutva party does not get power looms large on the political landscape of Kerala.

The Palakkad and Tripunithura municipal councils saw the election and swearing in of BJP councillors as chairmen. In both these local self -government bodies, the BJP is the single largest outfit, and that was how the party could make it to the chamber of the chairmen. The UDF and the LDF remain silent as they are waiting for the election to the Legislative Assembly to get over after which they will replicate the INDI Alliance in Kerala.

But in many panchayats, the Congress won the post of president thanks to its alliance with SDPI, an Islamic terrorist organization which has strong roots across the State. Many Panchayats in Pathanamthitta and Thrissur districts saw Congress allying with SDPI despite the party’s open declaration that it would not have any kind of understanding with extremist organizations. The INDI alliance had its opening in Ayiroor Panchayat, where the Congress and the CPI(M) have come together publicly to prevent the BJP from holding the president’s post.

“Since the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF are the main protagonists in the political drama unfolding in the State and are to lock horns in the upcoming assembly polls, they are not in a position to enter into an open alliance as of date. But once the elections are over, they will come together to unseat the BJP,” said a leading Congress leader.

Though the CPI(M) and the Congress are in alliance in all States, they are yet to formalise the marriage publicly in Kerala. Interestingly, though the BJP has no presence in the State’s legislative assembly, the name that reverberates in all the sessions is that of the Hindutva party.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti