Venugopal flags off ‘Puthuyuga Yatra’ led by Satheesan
WITH the Assembly election schedule expected to be announced in the first week of March, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) on Friday formally launched its election campaign by flagging off the Puthuyuga Yatra (Journey to a New Era) from Kasaragod, the northern tip of Kerala.
AICC general secretary and Alappuzha MP K.C. Venugopal flagged off the yatra by handing over the flag to team leader V.D. Satheesan, the Leader of the Opposition, in the presence of leaders of UDF constituent parties.
The yatra will pass through all 14 districts of the state, covering Assembly constituencies across Kerala, and will conclude with a massive public rally in Thiruvananthapuram on March 7.
Satheesan said the yatra marked the beginning of a decisive political battle against what he described as the failures, corruption and misgovernance of the CPI-M-led LDF government, which has been in power for a decade.
He said Kerala was passing through an unprecedented financial crisis, with the state’s economy in distress, development and welfare activities stalled, and mounting debt expected to touch nearly Rs 6 lakh crore by the end of the government’s term.
Satheesan said the healthcare system was “on a ventilator” and warned that if the trend of students migrating abroad for education continued, Kerala would turn into an ageing state within a few years.
He pointed to distress in agriculture, suffering in coastal regions, rising wild animal attacks, and the failure to disburse even basic grants to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students.
Unlike conventional election yatras, Satheesan said Puthuyuga Yatra would focus not only on criticising the government but also on presenting a credible vision for Kerala’s future.
He said the UDF had prepared sector-wise vision documents with the support of experts over the past two years and would announce phased, long-term projects rooted in Kerala's strengths.
Around 75 per cent of the yatra would be devoted to discussions on employment generation, healthcare, education and structural reforms.
Satheesan said there would be no compromise on secularism and asserted that the UDF’s priority was to defeat communal politics in Kerala.
Government corruption, including the Sabarimala gold case, would be a key campaign issue, he added.
Calling the yatra the “end of an era”, Satheesan said it signalled the beginning of the end of Communist rule in Kerala and the start of a new political phase, expressing confidence that the UDF would return to power in 2026 with a decisive mandate.
