UDF final decision on zonal rallies on May 12: Kerala CM

A final decision on zonal rallies, likely to be held from May 19-25 to highlight the achievements of the four-year-old Congress-led UDF government, will be taken on Tuesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said today.
Declining to share the details of his talks with Finance Minister and KC-M leader K M Mani on the issue, Chandy said "everything cannot be disclosed to the media."
"The UDF is meeting on Tuesday and a final decision will be taken on whether or not change the dates of the zonal meetings," Chandy told reporters at Kozhikode, a day after Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief V M Sudheeran said the KPCC wanted the rallies to be taken up as per schedule.

Chandy was in Kozhikode after attending the marriage of the lone woman minister in his cabinet, P K Jayalakshmi, at Wayanad.
Meanwhile, Mani, who is going abroad on a personal trip tomorrow, told reporters at Kottayam that he had some personal difficulties due to which he had wanted a change in the dates of the zonal meetings.
There was no need to make the issue controversial, he said.

Kerala Congress (M), a front partner, had wanted postponement of the meetings apparently in view of the vigilance probe going on against Mani in the bar bribery case.
However, Sudheeran had said yesterday that the KPCC wanted the ruling UDF coalition to go ahead with the Front's political campaign zonal rallies as planned earlier.

Postponing the rallies after all the preparations had been made would send a wrong signal, Sudheeran had said.
The rallies were planned to highlight the achievements of UDF government and to check the 'false propaganda' unleashed by CPI-M-led LDF opposition against UDF.