''No leakage of BJP votes this time'': Pillai

Thrissur, Apr 2 (UNI) BJP Kerala president P S Sreedharan Pillai today said there will be no ''leakage'' of his party's votes during the upcoming state Assembly elections.

Addressing a 'face-to-face' programme organised by the Thrissur Press Club, he said his party had learnt a lesson from the Lok Sabha by-election in Thiruvananthapuram, where the party's votes were transferred to other parties, leading to an ignominious defeat for the party candidate, who lost his deposit.

Mr Sreedharan Pillai said the BJP's election manifesto would be released on April 6. He said that the manifesto would give importance to the ''cultural identity'' of Kerala.

The BJP would field 134 candidates of its own and back an independent candidate Jyotheendra Kumar in Thiruvananthapuram East.

The remaining five seats will be given to BJP's national-level ally Janata Dal(U). These seats are Parasala, Punaloor, Irinjalakuda, Koduvally and Edakkad.

He hoped that the party would register a better performance in these elections and open its account in the Assembly.

UNI XR ARC DK1702