Kerala local body polls: LDF seeks mandate with measured confidence amid political crosswinds

Confidence and apprehension in equal measure mark the Left Democratic Front’s approach to the present local body elections. In 2020, the LDF tasted remarkable success in the polls, winning five of the six Corporations, 43 of the 86 municipalities, 11 of the 14 district panchayats, 108 of the 152 block panchayats, and 514 of the 941 grama panchayats. The victory set the stage for it to secure an unprecedented consecutive term in the government in 2021. The LDF is clearly nursing similar ambitions as it faces another local body election. The general thrust of the LDF’s campaign has been its developmental and welfare record of close to a decade.

“It is clear that all that the government has achieved, right from the infrastructural boost to the welfare measures including increase in pensions and making the State free of extreme poverty, was due to continuity in power. One of the biggest positives is that there is no anti-incumbency against the LDF even after a decade. The United Democratic Front, on the other hand, is a divided house now,” A.K. Balan, former member of the CPI(M) central committee, tells The Hindu.

Just like the recent election seasons, the LDF is facing a slew of controversies, including the arrest of former Travancore Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar, a CPI(M) district committee member, in the Sabarimala gold ‘theft’ case and the Enforcement Directorate’s show-cause notice to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in connection with the masala bond issued by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). The CPI(M) leadership has argued that the arrests in the Sabarimala case are proof that the government has not intervened in the investigation, while it has dismissed the ED notice as the BJP’s election-time stunt. The allegations of rape and forced termination of pregnancy against Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, which has landed the Congress in a difficult situation, has also taken public attention away from the other controversies.

Internal friction

The run-up to the local body elections has not been smooth for the LDF, which was beset with internal friction between the CPI(M) and the CPI over the lack of consultation within the front before the government’s signing of the National Education Policy-linked PM-SHRI scheme to secure federal funding estimated at ₹1,446 crores for school education. The top leadership later ironed out the differences after the government put on hold the roll-out. During candidate announcements in regions like Palakkad, there were instances of the CPI and CPI(M) fielding candidates against each other, although some of these were later withdrawn.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurates LDF’s Kollam Corporation election campaign on Thursday.
| Photo Credit:
C. SURESHKUMAR

“Ours is a system of 11 parties who have come together for a common cause, evident in the manifesto prepared through consultations between the parties. Fielding of rebels is a common phenomenon at the local level, but there are no serious issues at the State level,” says LDF convener T.P.Ramakrishnan .

The LDF also appears to have accommodated the expanded list of demands of the Kerala Congress (M), amid speculations of the party moving closer to the UDF camp. It is contesting in significantly more number of wards this time in Central Kerala, at least some of it at the expense of the CPI, creating yet another layer of underlying tension within the front. The front has also considered some of the demands of even smaller parties like the Kerala Congress (B), which has for the first time got a seat in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.

NSS, SNDP gesture

The fact that community organisations such as Nair Service Society (NSS) and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, which extended support for the government’s Global Ayyappa Sangamam, have not taken an antagonistic stand towards the government after the recent controversies at Sabarimala also is a cause for relief for the LDF. It will also be hoping to reverse the marginal erosion in the Ezhava votebase witnessed during the Lok Sabha polls. The LDF is also flagging the alleged covert alliance of the UDF with the Jamaat-e-Islami as well as the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).

“In the past, the UDF was reluctant to openly take a favourable stand towards such organisations. However, now it is going out of its way to accommodate JeI and the SDPI and giving them the garb of secular organisations, although their stands are as dangerous as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Along with this, the threat of Hindutva fascism, with problematic measures like the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), is part of campaign issues,” says Mr.Balan.

The LDF is hoping for the local body elections to provide it one final thrust on its quest to return to power for a third consecutive term.