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Thiruvananthapuram: As the Left Democratic Front (LDF) under ‘captain’ Pinarayi Vijayan storms back to power in Kerala bucking the four-decade-old trend of shuttling between two coalitions, it brings home the message loud and clear that in times of crises, people will be looking towards a strong and credible leader capable of delivering on promises.
The sweeping verdict, which snuffed out the slim of hope of the Congress of annexing the only southern state where the party still matters and battered the image of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the party with a future, underlines that social security and welfare would pay off, especially in hard times.
The magnitude of the outcome also manifests the limits of identity politics as the LDF’s triumph is so authentic that it could vanquish the rivals cutting across class, caste and religious divisions all across the state.
Realising that theoretical precepts and shibboleths written down in the basic party programme matter less in a complex social context, the LDF Government had made a clean break from hardened positions after the crushing blow it suffered in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Curious it may sound, the outbreak of Covid-19 came in handy to reset its priorities by focusing more on bringing a little solace to the hard-hit masses by the distribution of free-of-cost food and provisions and enhancing the social security payouts. This policy shift that kept the home-and-hearth warm proved to be a firm foundation for the coalition to build a strong and convincing campaign, which was first successfully tested in local body polls.
Another factor that substantially contributed to the LDF’s victory was the cleverly crafted public perception it wove around the persona of Pinarayi Vijayan as a determined and invincible helmsman who will deliver what he promises, dismantling all hurdles in his path.
The entire credit for the LDF’s splendid performance goes to the 75-year-old CPI(M) veteran, who paled all others in the party, including the chair-bound central functionaries, by leading the combine from the front. This was for the first time that Kerala had a completely leader-centric election, especially so in the case of the CPI(M), for which the final word on most crucial matters used to be that of the higher party forums. The sacred ideal of democratic centrality, as enshrined in the party programme, was observed more in breach this time.
Decimated with a poor tally of 41 seats in the 140-member house, the United Democratic Front (UDF) led by Congress has been relegated to isolated patches. While the Congress’s tally was an unimpressive 22, the second partner Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) bagged 15 seats, mostly from the Muslim heartland Malappuram and other districts in the Malabar region in north Kerala.
For the Congress, the defeat is all the more humiliating since Kerala is considered as the second home of Rahul Gandhi, who represents Wayanad in the Lok Sabha. Rahul, along with sister Priyanka, had toured extensively in the state in the last lap of the campaign, raising the hopes of the UDF. The Congress, however, failed to make a mark in most constituencies. In his parliament constituency, the LDF has made severe inroads.
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After the initial shock, the internal commotion in the Congress is set to erupt like a volcano. It is doubtful if the discredited leadership would be able to withstand the demand from the disheartened mid-rung functionaries and demoralized ranks for an organizational revamp, which will have several heads rolling. The opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, former chief minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC chief Mullapally Ramachandran will be held to account for the party’s dismal performance.
The verdict also comes deeply disappointing for the BJP, which lost even the sole seat it held in the previous assembly. The boastful BJP state president K Surendran, who contested from two seats, bit the dust in both places.
The party had hoped that it could emerge as a dominant player in the near future, positioning itself as the nucleus for the anti-Left forces in the state. What worries the party more is not the repeat mandate secured by the LDF but that its image has got exposed. Its Kerala strategy was to make a surge by exploiting the devastation of Congress. But that would have required at least a nominal presence in the legislature to steadily build its image and credibility as a party to look forward to. As in the Congress, the internal squabbles in the BJP unit too will boil over soon.
