Let people evaluate my term: Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 25 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is all set to complete a record by becoming only the second Congress chief minister to complete a full term in office but remains modest, saying it is up to the people to judge his tenure.

"Let the people judge my term in office and I feel that it's not the chief minister or even a government's (role) to make a self-assessment," Chandy told reporters here on Thursday after the cabinet meeting.

K.Karunakaran, though chief minister on four occasions, could complete just one five year term in office (1982-87) and after now Chandy is on the threshold of following in his footsteps as the state assembly's final session ahead of the polls ended on Wednesday, instead of Thursday as was slated.

The session, which began on February 5, saw the Left opposition in combat mood targeting the Chandy government on allegations of corruption, and the chief minister turned emotional in his speech on the final day, asserting that if even 0.1 percent of the allegations against him are true, he will quit his over five-decade-old public life.

The 72-year-old Chandy, who has been a legislator since 1970, also refused to make an evaluation of his first term in office when he replaced A.K.Antony mid way in 2004 and was in office till the 2006 assembly polls, which the Left under V.S.Achuthanandan won handsomely.

Chandy, however is confident that once the Congress-led United Democratic Front hits the campaign trail with its list of achievements in the past five years, he will again create history by becoming the first chief minister to retain power, as all through in Kerala, power has always alternated between the Left and the UDF after one term.