The United Democratic Front (UDF) has put in place a system to address the grievances of coalition partners, enhance coordination between allies, and act on matters of common interest in real-time. A UDF liaison team will function from the office of the Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan.
The move came against the backdrop of the Revolutionary Socialist Party’s (RSP) declaration last week that it would chart a new political course if Congress disregarded their post-Assembly poll grievances.
RSP’s complaint
The RSP’s main grouse was that the UDF’s electoral machinery had failed to click in Chavara, which the party viewed as a sure seat. The RSP was also miffed with the Congress for offering seats where the party had no roots.
The IUML and the Kerala Congress had in private objected to the findings of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s (KPCC) post-poll review. Both parties felt Congress’s organisational weakness had contributed to the election loss. However, Congress reviewers attempted to blame UDF partners for the poor show, the allies reportedly felt.
KPCC president K. Sudhakaran, Mr. Satheesan, and UDF convenor M. M. Hassan said Congress would accord equal political space to all constituents. Mr. Sudhakaran reportedly told Communist Marxist Party (CMP) leader C.P. John Congress would treat UDF constituents on an equal footing when the latter complained that the coalition had denied his party a seat in the Assembly polls.
Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala were present at the UDF leadership meet. They urged the UDF to explain to the public the coalition’s opposition to the semi-high speed railway project, the flagship project of the LDF government. Mr. Chennithala had maintained earlier that the scheme was financially unviable, would increase the State’s debt, and was primarily a cover for advantaging the real estate mafia.
On September 20
The UDF meeting decided to revitalise the coalition from the grassroots level. Mr. Hassan said UDF liaison committees would come into existence at the block and mandalam level onwards.
The UDF would meet again on September 20. It also declared support for the government’s attempt to control the Nipah outbreak.
