Piravom bypoll: United fight put up by UDF

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking up the challenge thrown by Pinarayi Vijayan, Oommen Chandy had declared that the Piravom poll outcome would  be a comparison between the UDF Government and the Opposition LDF.At the first meeting to draw up plans for the poll campaign, Chandy had conveyed to the constituent party leaders that in the event of a debacle in Piravom, he would tender his resignation the very next day. KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala had also urged the constituent parties to tie up all loose ends and put up a united fight. With the advantage of being the son of the late T M Jacob and  all communal equations turning in his favour, especially the support of all Christian denominations, the victory of Anoop Jacob was a foregone conclusion. Moreover, the guarantee that Anoop would be a minister and the absence of internal strife in the UDF added much to his prospects.Piravom has emerged as a stepping stone for the UDF to Neyyattinkara byelection  though the undercurrents in the two segments are quite different. Caste and community factors will be relied on by the UDF even when the LDF is saying that the Piravom victory was gained through appeasement of communal organisations. “The UDF victory was not unexpected. But it has set a bad precedent in Kerala,’’ according to  V S Achuthanandan. “The CPM allegation is a challenge to the people of Piravom. Such a victory was the result of the united work of the UDF, which had no parallel. It will be repeated in Neyyattinkara also,’’ Ramesh Chennithala said.’However, the offshoot of the Piravom victory will be that community and religious organisations would claim more than their due from the UDF Government.