WPI Leader Lambasts Marxist Party’s Opportunistic Politics
Kerala’s ruling Communist Marxist Party was playing “a dangerous” game using the communal card to grab votes in the recently held local body elections, said Hameed Vaniyambalam, state president of the Welfare Party of India (WPI).
“The LDF government might have won some extra seats in Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations in this election by playing this dangerous communal game, which in the long-run will benefit the BJP and its Sang Parivar forces,” he explained.
Addressing a press conference in Thiruvanandapuram, Hameed lambasted Marxist Party’s tirade against WPI to create communal polarisation in Kerala, saying it was part of its ugly opportunistic politics.
He called upon the educated people of Kerala to hold a serious debate on CPM’s communal politics before it causes further damage to the state’s communal harmony as well as peaceful coexistence of people following different religious faiths.
Welfare Party, which is a nine-year-old nascent political party, won 65 seats in local bodies – a Corporation councillor, 14 Municipal councillors, a Block Panchayat member and 49 Gram Panchayat members. LDF won 514 Grama Panchayats while UDF grabbed 375 and NDA 23 in the fiercely- fought election conducted last week.
Hameed said the UDF, especially Congress Party, failed to transform the LDF government’s failures and corruption scandals into votes. Some Congress leaders’ negative comments on UDF cooperation with Welfare Party had confused voters, helping the LDF camp to win some additional seats.
“This time when WPI decided to make seat adjustments with UDF in local elections, LDF confronted UDF using communal politics and spreading Islamophobia. The LDF carried out a massive campaign against the UDF and WPI using the print, electronic and social media,” the WPI president explained.
The Congress Party’s support to reservation for the economically backward from the upper castes had angered the minorities and Dalits. This again negatively affected UDF votes.
He said Welfare Party won 42 seats in the last local body elections in 2015 when it aligned with the LDF. “Now LDF has unleashed its propaganda machinery to demonise WPI and attack UDF for reaching an understanding with our party in some seats. This policy is totally absurd,” he said.
LDF used the communal card in order to cover its administrative failures and scandals involving its top party leaders and officials, he added.
WPI’s activities during the past nine years are open to the public. “We introduce a new gen politics based on social justice, human welfare and inclusive democracy. We have never tried to communalise politics and our members have not involved in any communal riots and conflicts. We want to bring about a creative change in Indian society and politics.”