Ambalapuzha (Keralam) [India], April 9 : Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Thursday asserted that the United Democratic Front (UDF) would cross the 100-mark in the Keralam assembly polls, for which voting is being held today. He said that people were "fed up" with Pinarayi Vijayan as the Chief Minister and calling for change.
Speaking to ANI, the senior Congress leader called Vijayan "anti-people and arrogant". He further accused the LDF government of protecting the culprits of the Sabarimala gold theft case.
"We are going to sweep the elections. We will cross 100 seats. Most people here in the state are like that. They are very much in favour of a change. They are fed up with Pinarayi Vijayan as the Chief Minister for the last ten years. The question before the people in this election is whether this anti-people, arrogant Chief Minister should continue for five more years. They are saying, 'Not at all.' This is the response we are hearing from everyone," Venugopal said.
"You can see that Lord Ayyappa's gold has been taken awaythe theft happened. This government is trying to cover up the culprit in the gold theft case. They are trying to cover up the case itself," he added.
Venugopal made these remarks after he cast his vote at a polling station in Ambalapuzha.
Polling began for high-stakes electoral battles in two states, Assam and Keralam, as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry, on Thursday at 7 am with the Election Commission making arrangements for free, fair and smooth polling.
Voters have queued outside polling stations to cast their votes in the single-phase assembly elections.
Voting will be held for 126 seats in Assam, 140 in Keralam, and 30 in Puducherry in this phase of the election. Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23, and West Bengal on April 23 and 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
In Keralam, over 2.6 crore electors will decide the fate of 883 candidates across 140 constituencies. Of the 2,69,53,644 registered voters across the state, there are 1,38,27,319 women voters, and the number of male voters stands at 1,31,26,048.
Officials said 277 voters have been registered in the 'third gender category.'Among the electorate, nearly 4,24,518 voters fall in the 18-19 age group, while 2,04,608 voters are aged 85 years and above
To facilitate safe and secure polling, a total of 30,471 polling stations have been set up, which comprises 119 logistic and voter machine distribution centres and 41 vote counting centres.
The election is seen as a contest between the ruling LDF and opposition UDF, with the BJP-led NDA, which has been gaining vote share.
LDF holds 99 seats in the current assembly and is aiming for a third consecutive term based on its performance and welfare schemes. The LDF created a record in 2021 as it retained the southern state, which, over the decades, has seen power alternating between the coalitions led by CPI(M) and Congress.
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