New Delhi: CPM rebel leader G Sudhakaran on Friday announced that he will campaign against Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad in Cherthala and accused him of making inappropriate remarks.“Speaking to reporters in Alappuzha, Sudhakaran, who is contesting the election as an independent with the support of the Congress-led opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), said he had earlier decided not to participate in campaign activities outside his constituency.“I had decided not to participate in any election campaign outside Ambalappuzha. But now I have decided to campaign against Prasad in Cherthala because he has made unnecessary statements against me,” he told reporters in Alappuzha.Sudhakaran alleged that Prasad made the comments without consulting the state or district leadership of the CPI.“He is the only person in the CPI who has spoken against me. The party has not yet officially commented on the matter. I was silent, but he provoked me to take this stand,” the rebel leader said.Prasad had recently described Sudhakaran’s decision to contest as motivated by “desire for power” and said voters would reject him.Rejecting the CPI(M)’s charge that he was motivated by parliamentary ambitions, Sudhakaran questioned whether other leaders did not also have similar aspirations.“People are elected to the assembly to strengthen the communist movement. Earlier, capable leaders were sent. Now look at the people being elected. I joined the party in 1963 and now people are trying to teach me about it,” he said.He further alleged that his past statements were now being used against him during the campaign and expressed grief over the attacks on his family by party workers.“This is why I am contesting the elections this time. Even those in the top leadership who supported the false complaints were not rectified,” he said.However, the four-time MLA did not comment on the UDF’s decision not to field candidates in Ambalappuzha.“Local UDF leaders have met me and extended their support. I will contest the elections as an independent candidate for the people. Political criminals are joining the campaign in the name of the party. People will not vote for him,” Sudhakaran commented.All 126 assembly seats in Kerala will go to polls on April 9, with counting taking place on May 4 along with elections in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.As the ruling Left Democratic Front is trying to come to power for the third consecutive time, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is also eyeing a hat-trick at the top post.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The Trinamool Congress on Friday approached the Calcutta High Court challenging the transfer of several IAS and IPS officers by the Election Commission of India after the announcement of assembly elections in West Bengal.Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has been made a respondent in the petition filed by TMC leader and lawyer Kalyan Banerjee. The petition questions the Election Commission’s decision to transfer officials without consulting the state government. The matter is likely to be heard early next week.The Election Commission had transferred a large number of senior officials, including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and Director General of Police, within hours of the announcement of the assembly elections on March 15.Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee It criticized the move on Thursday, calling it “an undeclared emergency” and a “deliberate conspiracy to gain control of Bengal through coercion and institutional manipulation”. “What we are witnessing is nothing less than an undeclared emergency, motivated not by democratic principles but by political vendetta,” he said.Banerjee later wrote to CEC Kumar, urging the Election Commission to refrain from such “arbitrary, unilateral and partisan” action. “The Election Commission has crossed all bounds of decency and constitutional propriety. Since the introduction of the so-called Special Intensive Amendment, the ECI has acted with clear bias, showing little regard for ground realities or the well-being of the people,” the Chief Minister wrote.The Election Commission on Thursday put a stay on some inter-state transfer orders of senior police officers. Bidhannagar CP Muralidhar Sharma and Siliguri CP Syed Waqar Raza, who were earlier asked to go to Tamil Nadu, have been asked to wait. Along with the Tamil Nadu transfer orders of Barrackpore CP Praveen Tripathi and Howrah CP Akash Magharia, the Karnataka transfer order of Birbhum SP Amandeep has also been stayed.Elections for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, with counting taking place on May 4.