Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president and party candidate for the Kannur parliament constituency K. Sudhakaran has said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to resign owning responsibility for the rout of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the State.

Talking to reporters at the counting centre on Thursday afternoon, when his lead against his rival P.K. Sreemathy of the CPI(M) crossed 55,000 votes, he said that he would thank Mr. Vijayan for creating a political environment that helped the UDF’s victory in the State. The arrogance of the LDF government on the Sabarimala issue was a turning point that helped the Congress, he said adding that the electoral outcome was also the people’s mandate against political violence perpetrated by the CPI(M) in Kannur and neighbouring areas.

Terming the UDF victory in the State as a gift of the secular-minded people, he said that he had got lead in all the seven Assembly segments including the the CPI(M) strongholds such as Dharmadam, the Chief Minister’s constituency, Mattannur, and Taliparamba. The UDF could maintain its dominance in Kannur in the election, he said adding that the people were fed up with political violence and bogus voting. “If I got lead in the CPI(M) strongholds of Mattannur, Taliparamba and Dharmadam, that shows that I was voted by CPI(M) supporters,” he said.

The Congress leader said that the demand for the Chief Minister would come from within the CPI(M). The current political scenario could change the political situation in the State, he said adding that the Rahul Gandhi’s candidature had also played a major role in giving victory to the UDF in the State. The party would examine the factors that led to its electoral setback at the national level, he said in response to a question.

“The CPI(M) has been “falsely portraying me as a criminal and a goon over the past many years,” he said adding that the propaganda had failed as secured votes of even CPI(M) supporters. Referring to the clear lead secured by K. Muraleedharan in Vadakara against the CPI(M)’s P. Jayarajan, Mr. Sudhakaran said that it reflected the high political awareness of the electorate in Vadakara. The electoral setback of the CPI(M) in the State reflected the outrage of the people over the murders of S.P. Shuhaib, Abdul Shukkoor, Kripesh and Sharath Lal.