Thiruvananthapuram: Political formations in Kerala are employing all tricks of the trade to maximise their gains in the assembly election as the campaign enters its final phase. Election issues and agendas change as the alliances seem to close the gap. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Kerala for a second time on Friday to campaign for the BJP.
The ruling Left Democratic Front faced uncomfortable questions from the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, prompting chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to dare the opposition to end their false campaign and debate development and welfare instead. The opposition shot back by asking the chief minister to answer political questions instead of gloating over freebies.
If the LDF had scored about 9 lakh votes more than the UDF in the 2016 assembly election, the lead was reduced to 5 lakh in the local self-government body elections. That number is significant when opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleges that there are more than 4 lakh duplicate entries in the electoral roll in the state. The LDF could not just brush aside the allegation.
After the drubbing in the local body polls, the opposition tried to counter the government campaign that centred around the free food kits. However, they backtracked after the government and the ruling front blamed them for denying people their daily meals. The UDF said it just wanted to expose the political motivation behind the freebies. The BJP tried to cash in by claiming that it was actually the central government that made it possible.
The last thing the CPM wanted to discuss in this election campaign was the agitation related to women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple. The opposition and the BJP did everything they can to fan the fire. The BJP went on a door-to-door campaign to keep alive memories of the government decision to implement a Supreme Court order that struck down a ban on women aged between 10 and 50 atop the hill shrine. The CPM has launched its own grass-roots campaign to counter the allegations.
A controversial deal with a private company regarding deep-sea trawling has raised hackles in the fishermen community. The revelation that the deal was never formally cancelled has made it an active election issue. The controversy could have an impact on 32 assembly segments along the state’s coast. The LDF commands 23 seats among them now.
The government and the CPM have been working towards the goal of continuity of governance as set by the party state committee soon after the LDF government was sworn in in 2016. Former chief minister and Congress leader A K Antony warned the people of any such continuity. The CPM insisted that Kerala would benefit if the LDF remained in power.
This election is projected by some quarters as a contest between the chief minister and the UDF. The opposition game plan is to paint a picture of disunity and disgruntlement in the LDF. CPM central committee member and state industries minister E P Jayarajan’s announcement that he will not contest another election even if the party asks him to has come in handy for them. Jayarajan was one of the senior leaders who were disqualified to contest the election as per a party norm that limited to two the number of terms a party member could serve as a people’s representative.
The CPM has included in its campaign issues the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, which triggered massive nationwide protests. The chief minister said that the Congress was being vague about the sensitive issue. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi claimed that his party was the one to resist the legislation at a national level.
A long march planned by government job seekers who made it to the rank lists of the Kerala Public Service Commission has revived debates about lateral appointments.
As if all these issues were not enough to crowd an election campaign, the chief minister himself pointed to an imminent issue. The warning is relevant in the backdrop of a power tussle between the centre and the state regarding the investigations into the dollar-gold smuggling rackets.
