The Hindu : Kerala News : Playing the development card

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 26, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Playing the development card

By Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

PATHANAMTHITTA, APRIL 25 . With only 15 days left for the Lok Sabha elections, the three major contestants in Mavelikara, Ramesh Chennithala (UDF), C.S. Sujatha (LDF) and S. Krishnakumar (NDA), have stepped up their campaign, knowing that it would be a tight three-cornered contest. Development of the constituency is the main poll plank of all the contestants.

Unlike the elections in the past, the voter mood in this otherwise UDF stronghold is more or less frigid, even as the parties have begun to feel the `election heat'. The voters in this most-literate constituency in the State appear to be fed up of politics marred by factional feuds and "unethical practices and political gimmicks" of the different party factions. The impact of the feud and the resultant voter lethargy is said to be at its worst in the UDF camp. The poll campaign in the Assembly byelection in Thiruvalla, which comes under the Mavelikkara Lok Sabha segment, a few months ago had witnessed bitter factional feuds.

Though the `settlement' reached between the leaders of the two major groups in the Congress, K. Karunakaran and A.K. Antony, has brought some respite to the feud in the party, a good number of ordinary workers and local leaders appear to be dejected.

However, Mr. Chennithala is hopeful of a handsome win. He is mainly banking on his interaction with the local people and the "initiatives taken by him for the development of the constituency" during his four-and-half year tenure as the member of the 13th Lok Sabha. The UDF has also included in its poll plank, the initiative taken by Mr. Chennithala for the inclusion of the Pampa River in the Pampa Action Plan as part of the National River Conservation Programme and the "cent per cent effective utilisation" of the MP's Local Area Development Fund (MPLADF) in the constituency.

Being the Alappuzha district panchayat president for the past nine years, Ms. Sujatha of the CPI(M) is much familiar with the constituency, especially in the four Assembly segments of Kayamkulam, Mavelikkara, Chengannur and Pandalam. She has also placed a long list of claims on various development projects initiated by her in the constituency as well as her achievements. The CPI(M) has launched a systematic campaign in the constituency, which is more visible in the four Assembly segments in Alappuzha district. By fielding Ms. Sujatha, the party anticipates a swing in its favour in women's votes.

The three-time MP from the neighbouring Kollam constituency as well as Union Minister for nine years, Mr. Krishnakumar, BJP candidate, got an early start when he launched his campaign in Mavelikara two months prior to the announcement of the election schedule. Significantly, the BJP is taking extra care not to play any sort of `majority vote bank' politics in Mavelikkara. Instead, it is making an all-out effort to woo the minority votes by projecting its candidate as a "secular man with a proven track record of development." The BJP State general secretary, P.P. Mukundan, is camping in the constituency to directly monitor the poll campaign. Moreover, Mr. Krishnakumar's candidature and a well-oiled campaign machinery have infused confidence in the BJP camp.

It should be noted that the UDF had maintained a comfortable lead in all the seven Assembly segments in Mavelikkara in 1999, after a gap of 10 years. Mr. Chennithala's lead was 7,720 votes in Thiruvalla, 4,681 in Aranmula, 5,990 in Kallooppara, 5,247 in Kayamkulam, 3,638 in Mavelikara, 4,400 in Chengannur and 1,727 votes in Pandalam, besides polling 28 postal votes, more than his nearest LDF rival, Ninan Koshy. However, the Congress camp is quite confident of a major swing in the minority votes in its favour with the proposed tour of the constituency by the AICC president, Sonia Gandhi, on May 1 and the Navodhana Yatra of the Chief Minister, A.K.Antony, scheduled to reach here on May 5. While the UDF camp anticipates a `consolidation' of minority votes in its favour in the last phase of the campaign, the CPI(M) has taken special care to check any such move.

The BJP has also taken it as a chance to create an impression that it is "more secular than any other party" and has left no stone unturned to make inroads into the so-called `minority vote bank' in an effort to `whitewash' its saffron image.

The BJP leaders claim that the Easter and Vishu greetings issued by the party candidate were well received by the respective sections.

To all indications, it is not going to be an easy walkover for any of the contestant. Unlike the noisy campaigns in the past, this time the rival fronts appear to have laid more stress on door-to-door campaign and squad work.

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