‘UDF circulated communal videos during LS elections’: CPI(M) leader hits back at Cong-led front in Kerala | Latest News from India

The statement by MV Govindan, the state secretary of the CPI(M), came amid sustained criticism from the UDF over the Dispute over the “Kafir” campaign.

“It was the UDF that had spread the communist and objectionable videos during the (Lok Sabha) elections. We have said this from the beginning. It was the LDF that had lodged a complaint regarding this,” PTI quoted him as saying.

Govindan further stated that neither the CPI(M) nor the LDF were the beneficiaries.

Shafi Parambil of the Congress was elected from the Vadakara seat with 557,528 or 49.65% of the votes, according to Election CommissionKK Shailaja of the CPI(M), a former health minister of Kerala, came second with 443,022 votes (39.45%) and Praphul Krishnan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came third (111,979; 9.97%).

On Friday, the Congress had criticised Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPI(M) for “protecting” the people behind the campaign.

The controversy revolves around a social media post published ahead of the Vadakara seat vote, which allegedly urged people not to vote for LDF candidate Shailaja as she was a 'kafir' (infidel).

Kerala police recently found that the post was being shared on some online sites and WhatsApp groups linked to the ruling party in the southern state.

On April 26, voting took place in all 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala, in the second part of the seven-phase national election. The UDF won 18 seats, while the LDF and BJP won one each.