Wayanad (Kerala) | UDF candidate from Mananthavady assembly seat Usha Vijayan on Wednesday termed Congress leader and former minister P K Jayalakshmi's recent allegations of "internal sabotage" against a section of local party leaders as "uncalled for".
Vijayan said that though such allegations ought not to have been made in the prevailing situation, it has only served to unite the UDF even further.
Jayalakshmi had on Tuesday raised serious allegations against a section of local leaders of her own party and said she was defeated in previous elections due to sabotage by them.
Speaking at a United Democratic Front (UDF) convention held at Vellamunda here ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls, she claimed that a section of party leaders had worked against her in the Mananthavady constituency in both the 2016 and 2021 Assembly elections.
Vijayan, speaking to a TV channel, said she was not aware of such an incident and has not examined if the allegations were true or not.
"She (Jayalakshmi) mentioned an experience she had. I am not aware of any such thing and I have not examined whether it is correct or not. Nothing like that would happen this time.
"Her remarks will not be a setback, it will only serve to unite the UDF even more. She should not have said that (allegations) in the prevailing situation, but it has given an energy for uniting the UDF," Vijayan said.
On being asked if she was confident she would not be betrayed or sabotaged, Vijayan replied in the affirmative.
She asserted that the UDF workers will function unitedly and she would win by a margin which would be more than what Jayalakshmi got in 2011.
Jayalakshmi had won by a margin of around 12,000 votes in 2011.
She had served as the Backward Welfare Minister in the Oommen Chandy government.
She was defeated in Mananthavady in both 2016 and 2021 by LDF candidate and present minister O R Kelu, who is related to Vijayan.
Vijayan said there are only political differences between her and Kelu and nothing personal.
She said that this time UDF will win from Mananthavady as people are fed up of 10 years of LDF rule and are looking for a change. PTI She also said that if she had not entered politics, she would have tried for a normal government job.