Campaigning for polls gains momentum

WITH barely 10 days left for the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala to go to the polls, on April 26, the election scene in the state is heating up with the Congress-led UDF, the CPI-M-headed LDF and the BJP-led NDA intensifying their campaigns.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to campaign in Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram to give momentum to the BJP’s campaign.

Congress plans to deploy star campaigners like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, while the CPI-M plans to bring in national leaders like Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, and Brinda Karat to bolster its campaign.

Modi will reach Kochi on Sunday night and will proceed to Kunnamkulam near Thrissur on Monday morning to address a rally there. BJP candidates from Alathur and Thrissur, Prof Sarassu and Suresh Gopi, respectively will attend the event.

After that, he will proceed to Thiruvananthapuram to address a poll rally at the Christian College ground in Kattakkada. BJP candidates from Thiruvananthapuram and Attingal, Rajeev Chandrasekhar and V Muraleedharan respectively will attend the event.

Rahul Gandhi will campaign for party candidates and address rallies of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala in the weeks to come. Gandhi, who is seeking his electoral luck for the second consecutive term from Wayanad constituency, will arrive in the southern state on April 15.

He would address a UDF rally in northern Kozhikode district on Monday evening. Gandhi would take part in several programmes in the Wayanad constituency on April 15 and 16, Joseph Vazhackan, the coordinator of the programmes, said on Sunday.

On April 18, the leader would take part in meetings in Kannur, Palakkad and Kottayam constituencies. Gandhi is also scheduled to address rallies in Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha districts on April 22, Vazhackan added.

According to Congress sources, besides Gandhi, several other prominent national leaders would also campaign in support of the party candidates in the state.

Senior party leader and deputy chief minister of Karnataka D K Shivakumar would have a whirlwind tour in the southern state on April 16 as he would take out roadshows and address party workers in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Malappuram constituencies, they added.

The stakes are high for the UDF as it won 19 of the 20 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The LDF is in no better position as there is a strong anti-incumbency among the voters due to multiple reasons and the state facing an unprecedented financial crisis.

The LDF Government has been facing the wrath of the people as it failed to pay up social security pension on time, the salary of government employees being delayed, and pending DA instalments due to government employees. Subsidised grocery items are not being distributed through the Supply Co. outlets.

The death of JS Sidharthan, a second-year veterinary student the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode campus in Wayanad, inside hostel after brutal ragging and assault allegedly by the SFI leaders on February 18, the Panoor bomb blast, Karuvannur cooperative bank scam, the monthly pay off case against the chief minister’s daughter Veena Vijayan and other corruption charges against the Pinarayi Vijayan government, including the Life Mission housing project kickback case have dented the image of the LDF Government.

Knowing well that its government is facing massive anti-incumbency, the front leaders are trying to overcome it by raising the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) issue. The CAA notification has come as a blessing in disguise for the ruling CPI-M which has been facing massive anti-incumbency.

With an eye on the minority votes, the LDF star campaigner, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has been harping on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and atrocities against Christians in Manipur and north Indian states in his election meetings across the state.

The Congress and the CPI-M seemed to vie with each other to cash in on the growing fear that the CAA was patently ‘anti-Muslim’. They are competing with each other in wooing Muslims stating that “we will protect your interest at any cost”.

The 2024 Lok Sabha polls are of paramount importance to the CPI-M as it has to defend its national party status based on its performance in these elections. Its tally has come down from 43 seats in 2004 LS polls to a paltry three now. If CPI-M fails to win 11 seats from no less than three states, it will lose its national party status and symbol.

The UDF is hoping to ride the anti-incumbency sentiments against the Central and state governments. Its leaders have said the political situation in Kerala is in their favour now and therefore, the front would repeat its performance of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when it won 19 of the state’s 20 seats.

The surveys conducted by many TV channels give an upper hand to the UDF.

The BJP is intensifying its efforts to break its electoral dry spell in Kerala. It expects to win two or three of the Lok Sabha seats in the state this time and the party candidates have succeeded in making the contest in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Attingal, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Palakkad a three-cornered fight.

Dallal Nandakumar’s bribery allegation against BJP’s Pathanamthitta candidate Anil Antony, who is the son of veteran Congress leader AK Antony, may affect the BJP’s prospects in Pathanamthitta.

Many party workers believe Anil Antony was a wrong choice for Pathanamthitta. The situation would have been different had the BJP fielded PC George or Shone George there, they say.

There is a general feeling among the noncommittal voters and also among party workers that the probe agencies under the Centre government have been soft towards Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI-M. That is the reason why the allegation against Chief Minister Vijayan in the gold smuggling, Dollar smuggling, and Life Mission cases have not been probed properly.

The Lavlin case, involving CM Pinarayi Vijayan was adjourned more than 30 times in Supreme Court. Had the CBI taken some interest in the hearing of the case such adjournments would not have happened.

They now expect that the probe into the monthly pay-off case, involving Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena and the Karuvannur cooperative bank scam, involving CPI-M leaders in Thrissur district will reach its logical conclusion.

The BJP cadre is elated by the back-to-back visits of Prime Minister Modi to Kerala. They hope to win a few seats in the Lok Sabha polls banking on Modi’s influence. Massive attendance in his rallies and roadshows is being interpreted as an indication of growing acceptance for Modi among Kerala voters.