Splendid Victory In Kerala

Sajan Evugen

THE Left Democratic Front is back in power in Kerala with a historic victory. The electorate in Kerala gave more than two-third majority to the LDF in the 12th assembly election. The victory of the LDF is important in many aspects. This verdict is a continuation of the verdicts against the UDF delivered by the people of Kerala in election after election since the 2001 assembly elections.

All the prominent leaders of CPI(M) who were in the fray have come out victorious. The winners include CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly V S Achuthanandan, central committee members Paloli Muhammad Kutty, M A Baby, P K Gurudasan, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and P K Sreemathi, state secretariat members Thomas Issac and A K Balan. The victory of the LDF is even in all districts of the state. The LDF was able to attract newer sections especially the minorities. In the 2004 Lok Sabha election, the percentage of vote share for LDF was 46. It has now gone up to 48.6.

While the performance by all the LDF constituents was impressive, it was a heavy blow for most of the UDF partners. The political future of many a UDF constituent is under question. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Democratic Indira Congress-K (DIC-K), CMP, JSS and two RSP groups have lost badly. It was the maiden attempt of the DIC (K). It had to remain content with winning one out of the 18 seats it contested. Even its president Muraleedharan faced defeat in a relatively “safe” seat given to it by the IUML.

The defeat of the UDF was emphatic. Seven ministers and seven ex-ministers were humiliated at the hustings. Those biting the dust were P K Kunjalikutty, M K Muneer, E T Mohammadu Basheer, Cherkkalam Abdulla, K R GouriAmma, M V Raghavan, Babu Divakaran, Dominic Presentation, K K Ramachandran, K P Viswanathan, Kadavoor Sivadasan, R Balakrishnapillai, T M Jacob, K Muraleedharan and Sujanapal.

The IUML’s so-called impregnable fortress of Mallapuram has been breached. IUML state general secretary and former minister P K Kunhalikutty, who has been accused of being involved in a sex scandal, was delivered a massive defeat in his home turf of Kuttippuram. UDF partners like CMP and RSP groups didn't get even a single seat.

The LDF won in five of the eleven seats in Malappuram. This is a significant achievement. In ten out of fourteen districts the LDF got a clear majority. In the traditional UDF bastions of Ernakulam, Wayanad, Pathanamthitta and Idukki there has been a tilt towards the LDF. The UDF has been wiped out in Wayanad. It may be recalled that 505 farmers in this district committed suicide.

The CPI(M) candidate M Chadran won by the highest margin  the state - 47,161 votes. He was elected from Alathur in Palakkad. .

The BJP’s hopes of making it to the assembly have once again been dashed. Its most prominent face in Kerala, former union minister O Rajagopal finished third in Palghat. The BJP which got 12.16 per cent votes in 2004 Lok Sabha elections has now to remain content with only 4.75 per cent. These votes despite going to the UDF, did not help it either.

CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Viyajan congratulated the people of Kerala for giving a historic win to the LDF. In the election campaign, Pinarayi said, the UDF had tired to misguide the people in the name of development. But the same people have shown the UDF its real place. The Congress didn't get a single seat in some districts.

The leader of opposition V S Achuthanandan described the LDF victory as a verdict against the anti-people polices of the UDF. The ruling front has tried to sell all the wealth of the state, he alleged. The LDF is in the forefront of the struggle against these policies and people gave their mandate to the LDF, he added.