No deputy CM demand: Kunhalikutty

Kozhikode/Kochi: IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty said his party would not stake a claim for the deputy chief minister seat if UDF assumed power in Kerala. Addressing the media in Malappuram he expressed confidence in UDF prospects and said the elections reflected a pattern similar to the one seen in the recent Parliamentary polls. He said the trend clearly indicated a decisive mandate in favour of UDF which he claimed would secure over 100 seats in the assembly.Kunhalikutty said it is up to the Congress to choose who should be the chief minister and added that IUML would extend full support to that choice once Congress takes that decision. He stressed that there should not be a dispute in finalizing the chief minister and there should not be any delay as well. "IUML gave full support to the opposition leader's efforts to bring UDF back to power. In future, IUML will support the person whom Congress makes the chief minister," he said.Kunhalikutty recalled that IUML state president Panakkad Sadikali Shihab Thangal had made it clear that the party would not trigger any internal crisis within UDF if the front won the elections. He said all sections, which had been the traditional support base of UDF, have returned to the front. "Going by the reactions of LDF leaders after elections, one can see that the front is not very confident," he added.Kunhalikutty expressed optimism about IUML's performance, saying that the party expects to win a significant majority of the 27 seats it has contested and added that there are no constituencies, including Chelakkara and Punalur, that the party considers unwinnable.Meanwhile, Ernakulam DCC president Mohammed Shiyas said that the next CM should come from Ernakulam if UDF assumed power. His comments are widely seen as a public endorsement of opposition leader V D Satheesan for the state's top post. Responding to queries on whether Ernakulam would produce the next CM, Shiyas said, "It is our collective desire to see someone from Ernakulam lead Kerala. Satheesan has proven his mettle by leading the opposition with immense strength and vision."He criticized CM Pinarayi Vijayan and said his rhetoric is undignified. He said the CM's inability to maintain diplomatic decorum with leaders of other states has become an embarrassment for Kerala.He said the record voter turnout reflects strong confidence in UDF. He said LDF did not learn from the setbacks it faced in local body elections and this led to a massive public surge at polling booths in assembly polls, he claimed. He credited Satheesan's disciplined and organized campaign for UDF's strong position, particularly in Ernakulam.Meanwhile, Satheesan said UDF will return to power with over 100 seats and predicted a ‘clean sweep' in Ernakulam, Malappuram, Wayanad, Idukki and Pathanamthitta, which account for 43 seats. He said there has been a strong organizational resurgence and claimed UDF's election machinery is at its most potent since 1991. "Groups that drifted away in 2005 have returned to the fold," he said.He criticized LDF ministers who said they would trap him in his constituency. He said they are now too afraid to leave their constituencies and campaign elsewhere. He dismissed LDF talk of a ‘woman CM' as a sign of desperation. "They campaigned saying Pinarayi 3.0. LDF shifting the narrative now shows it has conceded defeat," he said.