Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has conceded that the controversial decisions taken by the Oommen Chandy government in its final days harmed the United Democratic Front’s performance in the May 16 Kerala Assembly election.

This is the first time that Chennithala, who was Home Minister in the Chandy government and was among the troika of Congress leaders that led the UDF campaign, has openly conceded the criticism.

At a news conference here, he said the decisions were among the factors that had damaged the UDF’s electoral outcome. He, however, would not say who pressed the out-of-the-agenda items that the meetings of the Chandy Cabinet had okayed.

These decisions included granting of government land to certain business groups, assigning ownership rights to a plantation company and allowing business houses to reclaim wetlands for construction.

Following the hue and cry raised by VM Sudheeran, Congress State president and a member of the troika, the Chandy government was forced to drop some of the decisions.

The controversial decisions had cemented the general impression about the Chandy government as election neared, and led to the drubbing of the UDF.

Chennithala, who is the leader of one of the two major factions within the Congress, is currently the Leader of the Opposition.

His faction is opposed to Chandy’s faction as well as to Sudheeran, but both the factions have been trying to get Sudheeran ousted as the State president.

A major criticism levelled by the two groups against him was that his attacks on Chandy had led to the UDF defeat. With Chennithala now seeming to agree with him, Sudheeran seems to be vindicated on that count.

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