Fronts accuse each other of running a recriminatory campaign at Puthuppally

Even as development emerged a major poll plank in the final stages of the campaign for the byelection to the Puthuppally Assembly Constituency, the major political fronts continued to accuse each other of running a highly recriminatory campaign. Satheesan accused the Communist Party of India of personally targeting the family members of the former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the Left Democratic Front raised the alleged cyber attacks faced by LDF candidate Jaick C. Thomas’s wife Geethu Thomas. A viral voice clip of a purported conversation between two Congress members with serious allegations against Oommen Chandy’s family, elicited a quick denial from senior Congress leader K.C. Mr. Satheesan, in his press conference, said that the Communist Party of India district leaders who had initially targeted Mr. Chandy’s family with public comments had backed out from it after they realised that it would backfire, but they gave covert support to cyber attacks against Mr. Chandy’s daughter Achu Oommen. Meanwhile, Jaick’s wife Geethu, who filed a police complaint against alleged cyber attacks, said that she was disheartened by the slanderous campaign accusing Jaick of trying to garner sympathy using his pregnant wife.