Kerala NCP gives ultimatum to UDF
By IANSWednesday, January 14, 2009
NEW DELHI - The Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Thursday threatened to field candidates for all 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala unless the Congress agreed to ally with it by Feb 15.
NCP Kerala leader K. Muraleedharan, the son of former chief minister K. Karunakaran, made the announcement here after meeting NCP president Sharad Pawar.
‘If the UDF fails to form an alliance before Feb 15, the NCP will field candidates in all 20 Lok Sabha seats,’ he said.
He said neither the UDF nor the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) could ignore the influence of his party in the state. ‘We are a force that can determine who win elections in the state,’ said Muraleedharan.
Asked about the opposition among a section of state Congress leaders to accommodate the NCP into the UDF fold, Muraleedharan said such opposition was based on personal rivalry.
