Kerala's bar owners had alleged that Excise minister K Babu had taken Rs 10 crore as bribe to renew bar licences.
Highlights
- Five-time legislator K Babu is facing allegations of corruption
- Bar owners say he had taken Rs 10 crore as bribe to renew bar licences
- Mr Babu Says False allegations will not help LDF, "I will win"
Kerala excise minister K Babu is comfortable with election heat. The five-time time lawmaker is a force to contend with in Tripunithura - his constituency in Ernakulam district. But for the last 6 months, he has been facing allegations of corruption -- a fact that cheers the opposition LDF in the state, which will vote on May 16.
After the UDF government's new liquor policy, which ushers in prohibition in phases, bar owners had alleged that Mr Babu had taken Rs 10 crore as bribe to renew bar licences.
The minister was even forced to resign - the key reason why state Congress chief VM Sudheeran did not want him to contest. But he had to buckle under the pressure by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who had staunchly backed Mr Babu.
Mr Babu, who had denied the allegations, is confident of victory. Surrounded by a group of supporters - mostly elderly women and men -- he told NDTV, "This constituency has given me 25 years as a legislator and it will give me more". The LDF and bar lobbies, he said, "can make false allegations but it won't help them".
Tripunithura is where liquor policy takes centrestage, with the UDF claiming it is the women, the mothers, who will vote in their favour.
The CPM, however, thinks otherwise. Contesting against the Excise Minister is a CPM first timer, 36-year-old M Swaraj, state secretary of DYFI, the youth wing of the CPM, and a man of strong words.
The focus of his campaign has been the allegations of corruption against his opponent.
"The UDF and this minister have lost face. The state has witnessed unprecedented corruption. Everyone knows the liquor policy won't work and most of the ministers are tainted. How can they even ask for another chance?" he told NDTV.
Voters in the constituency say it's the local issues that matter the most. "I am going to vote on basis of the work done over the last 5 years - the development works or the lack of it," Sara K Marcus, a retired teacher, told NDTV.