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 coming Assembly elections.

Addressing a 'face-to-face' programme organised by the Thrissur Press Club, Mr Pillai said his party had learnt a lesson from the Lok Sabha byelection 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 Pillai said the BJP's election manifesto, giving importance to Kerala's cultural identity, would be released on April six.

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

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

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

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