Vellappally Natesan claims that LDF will return to power

Kochi: SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan on Sunday said Pinarayi Vijayan's office didn't function well despite the chief minister being a good administrator. Speaking to the media in Alappuzha, Natesan said that despite CPM workers not working well at the grassroots level, LDF will come to power, at least by a slight margin. Claiming that welfare schemes had benefited lakhs of people, he said LDF govt's initiatives would translate into electoral gains.He reiterated his stand that IUML naming Congress's chief minister pick is not the right thing. Natesan commented that while channel survey results are often inaccurate, he expects the Pinarayi govt to return to power. Natesan strongly criticised UDF and IUML. He argued that it was not right for the League to decide who should be Congress' chief minister, and if UDF comes to power, it would become a regime dominated by the League. He alleged that if the UDF comes to power, incidents like Marad would repeat. He observed that BJP had a good performance this time and expected the party to win some seats. Natesan stated that BJP's advancement would adversely affect both LDF and UDF equally. "BJP claims it can win around 14 seats. They may not win that many, but they will certainly win some seats," he said. He said BJP, being in power at the Centre and in several states, should not be viewed negatively. With input from agencies