State to witness 'political yatras' ahead of polls

Thiruvananthapuram: With Assembly polls in Kerala just months away, major political parties are gearing up to organise high-profile 'campaign yatras' across the state with the participation of national leaders.

Congress, which is heading the ruling United Democratic Front, Indian Union Muslim league, the second largest partner in the Front along with CPI-M and CPI in the Left Democratic Front Opposition have already come out with details of its yatras.

Criss-crossing all the 140 assembly constituencies, the yatras which is scheduled to start from Kasargod district in Northern Kerala will end in Thiruvananthapuram in South.

BJP, considered to be the dark horse in state politics, is also planning a yatra which will be led by its new state President Kumannom Rajasekharan.

The party, which failed to win a seat in both assembly and Parliament so far, is in an upbeat mood after it got an ally to its fold in Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, a powerful organisation of numerically strong backward Ezhava community in the state.

KPCC President V M Sudheeran will lead the yatra of Congress titled "Kerala Jana Raksha Yatra", expected to give a push and rejuvenate party cadres and also the Front partners before the polls.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the campaign at Kumbala in the Kasaragod District on January 4. It will conclude with a massive rally at Thiruvananthapuram on February 9.

The yatra would highlight, among other things, the slogan of liquor, crime free and secular Kerala. It would highlight the need for a fight against communalism and fascism allegedly "espoused by Sangh Parivar forces", as well as the "politics of violence allegedly followed by CPI-M."

The achievements of the UDF government under the slogan of 'Development and Care' would be another plank of the yatra, Sudheeran has said.