Sat Apr 19 05:51:38 UTC 2025: ## Kerala Opposition Boycotts Government Anniversary Celebrations, Accuses LDF of Mismanagement

**Thiruvananthapuram, April 19, 2025** – The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition in Kerala will boycott the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s fourth-anniversary celebrations, launching a parallel campaign to highlight what it calls the government’s financial mismanagement and administrative failures.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan accused the LDF of squandering public funds on a massive publicity blitz featuring Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, ahead of upcoming local body and assembly elections. He cited ₹15 crore allocated for giant hoardings as evidence of this “profligacy.”

Satheesan criticized the government’s handling of the state’s finances, claiming two consecutive LDF governments have plunged Kerala into deep debt. He listed a series of consequences, including shortages of medicines in hospitals, stalled welfare fund payouts, a halted Karunya medical insurance scheme, and unpaid vendors. He also blamed the government for failing to control inflation, citing rising fuel, power, and water surcharges. Furthermore, he pointed to a halt in civic works due to unpaid contractors and the devastating impact of wild animal raids on the rural economy, coupled with plummeting cash crop prices and a lack of government support for farmers.

The UDF has urged its members to abstain from all government functions except those directly related to constituency development. Satheesan’s statement paints a bleak picture of Kerala’s economic and social well-being under the LDF government, alleging a “downward spiral of decline” under Chief Minister Vijayan’s leadership.

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