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More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Don’t be fooled by Congress’ low-profile campaign in Kerala. It has its best shot since 2001

The BJP’s emergence as a potent third force has altered many equations. Kerala’s politics is no longer bipolar, even if the UDF and the LDF may still claim it is.

Driving across the National Highway in Kerala, one would imagine that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is completely out of the picture in the forthcoming assembly election. Most of the giant billboards display Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan smiling away with the caption, “Who else but the LDF?” There are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hoardings interspersed with the Left billboards, but the UDF’s presence in the sky is limited to VD Satheesan’s jaded ‘Puthu Yuga Yatra’ from February.

Also Read: BJP’s Kerala conundrum—courting Christians isn’t working out

UDF’s election to lose

Like schoolboys making perpetual excuses, Congress leaders throw up their hands, citing lack of “resources”. However, this exposes poor planning that became evident during the prolonged candidate selection process and eleventh-hour seat-sharing among UDF constituents. Blaming the Election Commission for scheduling the election sooner, and the media for fuelling such speculation, Congress is playing victim as usual. Nevertheless, the asymmetric nature of the contest ends right there.

This is an election for the UDF to lose.

And the Congress has never had its nose so far ahead in an election since 2001, when the UDF won 100 out of 140 seats in the state assembly. This advantage stems not only from the twin-term anti-incumbency against Vijayan, but also from the UDF’s victory in the local body polls held in December. In Kerala’s political history, local body polls have acted as a bellwether since their introduction in 1995. This was the case even in 2020, which foreshadowed the Left retaining power in 2021.

However, it is never beyond the Congress to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.

Plus, the LDF’s massive public relations overdrive can certainly have a psychological impact on the electorate — even if a section of voters would have made up their minds well in advance.

So, it’s important to identify the political undercurrents at play.

Undercurrents are hidden and........

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