Kozhikode (Keralam), Aug 29 (PTI) Former MLA P V Anvar on Saturday alleged that vote leakage in UDF strongholds contributed to his defeat in the Beypore Assembly constituency in the recent Kerala elections.
Anvar, who left the LDF, contested as an Independent candidate backed by the UDF in Beypore.
He was defeated by P A Mohammed Riyas, who is the son-in-law of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Recently, there were remarks from the Congress leaders that UDF would have won all 13 Assembly constituencies in Kozhikode district if another candidate had contested from Beypore.
In a Facebook post, Anvar questioned whether he was “defeated or made to lose” and said he was compelled to speak out following recent revelations and media reports.
Anvar, claimed that his candidature helped highlight issues, including “Pinarayism, son-in-law politics and dynastic rule” and also helped the UDF in other constituencies in Kozhikode district.
He alleged that votes had leaked from UDF strongholds, including Feroke, Ramanattukara and Cheruvannur-Nallalam, while votes from Left strongholds helped reduce the impact of the losses.
Anvar said dummy candidates together secured 1,469 votes.
He said the UDF constituency leadership had asked him to reduce the Left candidate’s lead in Beypore while assuring that it would take care of the other areas.
“I kept my word. We managed to reduce the lead in Beypore to around 5,000,” Anvar said, adding that the result could have been different if the UDF had secured the expected lead in Feroke and Ramanattukara.
Anvar said he would publish detailed booth-wise figures from all 215 booths, including the places where votes were lost and the circumstances behind it.
Meanwhile, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state general secretary P M A Salam told reporters that Anvar’s candidature was not the reason for the UDF’s defeat in the Beypore Assembly constituency.
“Was Anvar a candidate in all the constituencies where the LDF won? There may have been defeats due to political reasons. We are not saying that candidates lost because they were bad,” Salam said.
He said the allegations of vote leakage in the UDF would be examined.
“In any case, we are a front and a party that won 12 out of 13 seats. Why waste time talking about this single seat instead of discussing those 12,” he asked.
Salam said those who claimed that the UDF’s defeat in Beypore was due to Anvar’s candidature should provide an explanation. PTI TBA TBA KH
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