The Hindu : Kerala News : Janu's entry may make a difference

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 29, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Janu's entry may make a difference

By George Jacob

KOTTAYAM, APRIL 28. The picturesque high range district need not be a paradise, especially if you are a candidate campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. With nearly two weeks into their campaign, the two major contenders for Idukki, Francis George (KC-J) and Benny Behanan (Congress) are now learning this reality. For, the geopolitics in Idukki, the largest Parliament constituency in the State, varies from village to village, settlement to settlement, Assembly segment to Assembly segment.

In a constituency represented earlier by stalwarts like C. M. Stephen, the victory of the low profile Francis George, that too on a LDF ticket, itself was a major shift in the ground realities. The electorate wanted someone whom they could relate to. And Mr. George, during the past five years, consciously nurtured this image. As the campaign progresses, the thrust of the LDF campaign appears to be to thrive on this different image of the MP: one who is approachable and available to voters in crisis situations. In the crisis-ridden high range areas, this strategy is paying well.

The acute crisis in the agriculture sector, breakdown of administration in the plantation sector culminating in an unprecedented drought, should have been a nightmare for any sitting MP. But it appears that these crises themselves would prove a boon to Mr. George, if he succeeds in his effort to deflect the anti-incumbency factor against the party in power, either in the State or at the Centre. Mr. George, who had the opportunity to start his campaign much earlier than Mr. Behanan, could put up the low profile campaign to maximum use by several rounds of mass contact programmes. Mr. Behanan, in spite of his late start, could activate the party machinery in a short period. Aided by the visit of the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, to the drought-hit areas and thereby saving the candidate the miserable situation of being at the receiving end of popular ire during an all-important campaign, Mr. Behanan could soon catch up with the LDF campaign.

In spite of the fact that it was represented by the LDF for the past five years and that the Congress was faction-ridden, it remains a fact that the UDF machinery in the constituency is in tact. This is one advantage Mr. Behanan could bank on. He has also succeeded in countering the low-key campaign by the LDF with a high voltage one full of developmental dreams right from the proposed Sabari rail, solution to the drinking water crisis based on scientific studies to the implementation of the High Range Development Authority.

The campaign of the BJP contestant, S.T.B. Mohan Das, appears to be mainly concentrating on the plantation sector. A planter of Tamil origin, he is making use of his USP among the Tamil-speaking population.

Though she is not a contender for the top slot, the entry of C. K. Janu, Rashtriya Mahasabha leader, has turned the electoral battle in Idukki, among the most keenly watched one in the State. Any comparison with the campaigns of the three major mainstream political formations would be unrealistic in the case of the campaign by Ms. Janu as she is focussing on hundreds of hamlets which the mainstream politicians visit on the eve of every election and forget them for the rest of the tenure, though the SC/ST population in the constituency hovered round 20 per cent.

That discontent was simmering in the hamlets was evident right from the beginning of the campaign when several colonies banned the entry of the UDF candidate to their settlements. Certain others like those displaced during the implementation of the Idukki hydel project, who are leading a miserable life in the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, threatened to boycott elections. In earlier elections, such outbursts could be managed through a dose of liquor, some money and a sari by mainstream politicians. Will Ms. Janu's entry make a difference this time is the question being asked. A successful interference by the Rashtriya Mahasabha may affect both the UDF and the LDF votes in several pockets. Six others are also in the fray taking the total number of candidates in the constituency to ten.

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