The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala is fighting anti-incumbency as well as the Congress-led United Democratic Front. It is interesting that all members of the two fronts are part of the joint Opposition platform on the national level but fight each other tooth and nail in the state
The electorates in Kerala, Assam and Puducherry will vote on Thursday to elect their new Assemblies, making their choices clear amid three entirely different political matrices. While the constituents of the INDIA bloc are the major players in Kerala, the BJP-led front and the INDIA bloc take on each other in Assam even as the Union territory of Puducherry has its own political dynamics defying national patterns.
The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala is fighting anti-incumbency as well as the Congress-led United Democratic Front. It is interesting that all members of the two fronts are part of the joint Opposition platform on the national level but fight each other tooth and nail in the state. The BJP is yet to prove itself as a major player in the state’s politics. The LDF government is seeking a third consecutive term, an unusual feat in the history of the state, but has a formidable report card on welfare and development projects.
The comrades hope that the mega infrastructure projects the government has implemented through novel funding models and the mega push it has given to welfare schemes will help them coast to victory. The LDF claims the LIFE (Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment) Mission which has built over five lakh pucca houses and the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project which ensured decent living for over 60,000 marginalised families have made Kerala a model state in welfare programmes. The UDF, however, hopes to bank on the people’s under-expressed wish for a change and the five guarantees it has offered to the voters. It is a fact that the freebies have helped the Congress reap rich dividends in several states; but it remains to be seen if it can repeat the same feat in Kerala.
The BJP, which is also seeking a third consecutive term in Assam, is facing the election on two planks — development projects and an extreme version of Hindutva. The BJP claims its government has implemented major infrastructure projects unseen in the history of the state which also helped it invite mega private investment. And the party has unleashed a ferocious version of Hindutva targeted against Muslims in the state. The chief minister himself leads the charge and has no qualms in making highly objectionable statements that potentially undermine the very ethos this nation is founded on, but his party is okay with them as long as they bring in the votes. The Congress, an emaciated force here, is making every possible effort to make a comeback under its Lok Sabha member Gaurav Gogoi. The alliance partners are expected to play a key role when it comes to crossing the halfway mark for either front.
The Puducherry elections have given an opportunity to the Congress to assert itself against DMK, its partner in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. On the other side of the fence is the ruling NR Congress, which also tried to play tricks on its alliance partners AIADMK and the BJP for some time but ultimately fell in line. The triangular contest has turned the elections into an interesting affair.
