Where No One Returns To Office

The road leading to the town hall in Pampady, a small hill town in Kerala’s Kottayam district, is lined with hoardings and banners declaring ‘LDF for Sure’, a campaign slogan of the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front. There are graffiti and huge cutouts of CM Pinarayi Vijayan—‘star’ of the ruling party and ‘captain’ as they call him. The crowd waiting outside the hall is unmindful of the humid heat, and it comprises more women than men. Among them is 70-year-old Sharada, who wants to just have a glimpse of ‘captain’. “The CM has steered us through many crises, be it floods, pandemic or lockdown. Poor people like us survive on the free ration and pension offered by this government. He will win one more term,” she says. Vijayan is addressing his second meeting of the day and there are three more in Kottayam district.

Red balloons and flags go up in the air as the CM’s car makes its way through the crowd. On the stage, Vijayan speaks about his government’s achievements and welfare schemes for nearly 30 minutes. “The Opposition is trying to rake up the Sabarimala issue, which is a non-issue. We are focusing more on development,” he says.

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Pampady is part of the Puthupally constituency. Known as a Congress citadel, it is the home turf of former CM Oommen Chandy, who has represented Puthupally in the assembly 11 times since 1970. Against the Congress veteran, the CPI(M) has fielded a young candidate—Jake C. Thomas, who is taking on Chandy for the ­second time. “It is difficult to defeat Chandy in Puthupally, but Thomas will give a tough fight,” says CPI(M) ­supporter V. Kunjikrishnan as Vijayan leaves for his next stop in Pala.

About a kilometre away, a few Congress workers have assembled to take stock of the electioneering. Jeemon Verghese says he is not ­disheartened, and that his party is banking on Rahul Gandhi’s visit to lift the morale of workers like him. Even as he admits that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is ­lagging behind in campaigning, he seems assured that Chandy’s win is a foregone conclusion. “Vijayan is the CPI(M)’s star campaigner. He draws crowds wherever he goes, but it doesn’t always translate into votes,” he adds.

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Observers say the CPI(M) has had a head-start over the Congress and the BJP as far as campaigning is ­concerned. Riding on welfare schemes implemented in the past five years, if the LDF returns to power, as opinion polls indicate, it will break the ­incumbency jinx almost every ­government in Kerala has succumbed to in the past. In fact, the electorate has never given a second consecutive chance to any government except in 1977. For the CPI(M)-led ­government, busy fighting central agencies on ­allegations of gold ­smuggling and ­violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act involving the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board, this election is also a ­matter of prestige.

The CPI(M)’s other star campaigner, Kerala health minister K.K. Shailaja, says the world is keenly watching the “Kerala model of development, which has been highly appreciated by many”. “We will definitely return to power on account of the work we did in the past five years. The LIFE Mission housing project envisaged by the LDF ­government has provided 2.5 lakh houses to the beneficiaries. Our ­efficient healthcare system is another success story,” adds Shailaja.

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Observers say the exit of Congress veteran P.C. Chacko and rebellion within the ranks over the selection of candidates may dampen the UDF’s prospects. The Congress faced major embarrassment after Mahila Congress president Lathika Subhash tonsured her head protesting against denial of an assembly ticket.

D. Dhanuraj of the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) says the UDF campaign is yet to gather steam, and that the Congress seems to be ­struggling with low morale and lack of focus. “Right now, the LDF has an edge over the UDF in terms of campaigning and a strong CM candidate. Infighting is affecting the Congress a lot. As the Chandy group has been sidelined, they are not active in the campaign. We need to wait for a week more to watch the trend,” he adds. However, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala accuses rival parties of spreading ­canards and claims his party will win this time. “As we are a democratic party, Chacko’s exit hasn’t affected us. We also offered Lathika Subhash a ticket, but she insisted on contesting from Ettumanoor. We have introduced several new faces in this election,” says Chennithala.

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Senior Congress leader K. Sudhakaran’s statement that the party is doomed if it fails to come to power has also put the Congress in a spot. Party leaders admit privately that it is a matter of prestige for Rahul Gandhi, who is Wayanad MP. “I don’t subscribe to the view that our ­members will join the BJP if the Congress doesn’t come to power. Kerala is different from Pondicherry and Manipur, and we are set to win,” says Chennithala.

Observers say the Congress has brought back the vexed issue of ­women’s entry to the Sabarimala ­temple as a last resort. In its ­manifesto, the party has proposed ­legislation to ban the entry of ­menstruating women. The LDF, on its part, has made it clear that it will wait for the Supreme Court bench’s verdict and discuss the issue with all ­stakeholders. “The Sabarimala issue won’t work anymore,” says Shailaja. “We allowed women’s entry in 2018 because they came with the Supreme Court order. Now the issue is pending before a larger bench. We never hurt the sentiments of devotees or impose our decisions. Let the ­devotees ­decide.”

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Poll Pot

Kitchen Cabinet

The Great Indian Kitchen is perhaps the most talked-about Malayalam movie in recent times, winning rave reviews in national and international forums for its sensitive handling of patriarchal ­politics and the drudgery of everyday life of women in the kitchen. It seems that the movie had a direct impact on the manifestos of the main political parties in Kerala, which goes to polls on April 6. It came as a huge surprise to many when the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front’s manifesto offered pension to all housewives in the state. “No state has so far provided a special security pension to housewives yet,” said a party leader.

Soon after, the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front also promised Rs 2,000 as monthly support to ­housewives in the 40-60 age group.

As congratulatory messages for the movie’s director Geo Baby flooded ­social media for inspiring political ­parties, some cynics even wondered if the perks are a ploy to keep women in the kitchen forever!

• The Indian Union Muslim League, an ally in the Congress-led UDF, has fielded Noorbina Rashid for the Kozhikode South seat, the party’s first woman candidate in 25 years.

By Preetha Nair in Kottayam