Thiruvananthapuram: The crushing defeat suffered by the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the local body polls in Kerala was a pointer to a `change
of direction` taking place in the state, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala said on Friday.
"This is a vote against CPI-M`s attempt to communalise the politics in the state. They played the minority card in the Lok Sabha poll and took the majority card in local polls.
People rejected both and opted for the secular stance of UDF," he said addressing a meet-the-press programme here.
Terming the results as `historic,` Chennithala said it showed that the mass base of LDF was fast eroding in villages. The electorate in villages had started to have a rethink on
local politics and voted against the governance of LDF-led bodies at the micro-level, he said.
Chennithala said with the people`s verdict, the VS Achuthanandan government had lost its moral right to govern and should resign.
The win in the local body polls was not a temporary phenomenon, but a continuation of the victories UDF registered in the Last Lok Sabha poll and subsequent by-elections to
assembly, he said.
To a question, he said the 50 percent quota for women in local bodies had helped attract more women voters to booths.
He also said the BJP had not made any significant gains in the poll though they got a few seats more in some pockets. The influence of parties like SDPI was hardly felt in the
poll, he said.
PTI
