Defence minister A.K. Antony has turned out to be the ‘one-man army’ of the United Democratic Front, covering 10 districts in the last five days and attacking Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan from every stage.
The UDF believes that Mr Antony, the ‘Mr Clean’ of the Congress, is the right man to tear to shreds the ‘non-corrupt’ image of the Chief Minister. While many feel that Mr Antony’s campaign this time does not really jell with his regular calm style, the Congress leader defends it vigorously.
Talking to mediapersons in Kochi, Mr Antony said he did not have any personal animosity against Mr Achuthanandan, but only a political point to prove. “Mr Achuthanandan is spreading a campaign of vengeance and hatred,” said Mr Antony. “His party workers themselves are troubled by this.” “He speaks like an opposition leader, not the chief minister,” reiterated the Congress leader. “He is among the oldest and senior-most leaders in the party. But he was demoted by his own party.”
Asked why he has taken to VS-bashing, Mr Antony said, “As a chief minister, Mr Achuthanandan should speak about the achievements of his government or his failures. But that is not what he is doing. He still speaks about sending people to jail”.
Political observers feel that Mr Antony’s arrival has given a twist to the UDF campaign. With Mr Antony in the forefront, the LDF leaders are targeting him rather than Opposition leader Oommen Chandy.
However, Mr Antony set at rest rumours that he is will be coming back to state politics.