Alappuzha, Jan. 19 -- Kerala Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian has triggered a political controversy after linking the outcome of the recent local body elections in parts of northern Kerala to what he described as emerging communal voting patterns.
Cherian said an analysis of the election results in certain local bodies, including Kasaragod municipality and areas of Malappuram district, pointed to identity-based voting, which he claimed was evident from the names of those elected from these regions.
He cautioned that Kerala should not move towards the kind of communal polarisation witnessed in some other parts of the country and said such trends could pose a serious challenge to the State's secular ethos.
Referring to the result...