You may call them the divided families of United Democratic Front (UDF). In the upcoming Kerala elections, 33-year-old Sreelata* and her 38-year-old husband Raju* are united by the cause of electing an efficient party to power, but divided by the thought of the right candidate.
Sreelatha has ample reasons to sync with the anti-incumbency wave of Kerala elections. Largely happy with the UDF’s liquor policy, it is the corruption charges and the way Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has dealt with them, that makes her unhappy.
In Malayalam we say – theeyillengil pukayilla, there is no smoke without the fire. First, a corruption charge and then a sexual harassment charge against none other than the Chief Minister. And all he has ever said in his defence is that his office is responsible for all the mess. If that is actually true, it’s even more worrying.Sreelata, Thiruvananthapuram
While Sreelatha is committed to voting UDF out of power, her husband credits the party with development projects and revamping the image of Kerala.
Vizhinjam port, Kannur airport, Kochi Metro all kickstarted during UDF’s rule. It is true that the party has mostly done contracts-led development. But, if we talk about corruption, it is not that the CPM has never faced such charges. The reality is, a lot of projects might be left undone if Congress is voted out.Raju, Thiruvananthapuram
As the Perception Prevails...
Sreelata and Raju are not the only divided couples.
The politics in Kerala has always centred around image and perception. The largely literate and informed electorate is sensitive to the ‘clean’ image of its politicians. The candidates have long known, that any deviation from the public perception of good can cost them big.
Kerala is the hotbed of image politics. But these must be the first elections in which there is no political content in the discussions. It’s entirely about perceptions. There are two binaries operating in the current elections, the corruption and the development. Everything is around them. Other than these, the parties are promising almost the same things, have almost the same agenda and plan to do quite similar things. The win and the loss depend on what perception largely prevails in the two binaries.NS Madhavan, Socio-Political Analyst
The Customised Politics
The Kerala unit of the Bhartiya Janata Party has customised its politics for the state audience, keeping their social and cultural beliefs in mind.
The party is staying away from the beef ban discussions and slogans like Bharat Mata Ki Jai while trying to cash in the perception of a go-getter, pro-development, NDA government at the centre.
BJP has nothing to lose. It has no background in Kerala. The party is largely trying to ride the tide, by creating a perception of re-vamping the state like the rest of the India.NS Madhavan, Socio-Political Analyst
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) – the most direct beneficiary of the anti-incumbency wave against UDF, is locked in a different war of perception. VS Achuthanandan the most popular LDF leader and a massive crowd puller even at the age of 92 is liked across cross-sections and age groups of voters in Kerala.
With LDF maintaining a secrecy over who will be the Chief Ministerial candidate if the party comes to power, many in Kerala believe, that choosing between Pinarayi Vijayan the face of Kerala assembly elections and Achuthanandan, is the real battle for the CPM in Kerala.
Thirty-two-year-old Manoj Pillai, an expat who works in Abu Dhabi, keeps a tab on his home state’s politics:
Pinrayi Vijayan is known for his hardcore communist ideology. He is extremely popular amongst the CPM cadre, but can he actually look beyond his party and loyalists? A Chief Minister represents the state and he should think about all. Achuthanandan is more likeable because he thinks about everybody, not just the cadre.Manoj Pillai, Kottayam
Perception & Reality
Image building and perception are key to the upcoming elections also because this is the first time in Kerala when the ballots will have a photograph of the candidates.
In a bid to get a thumbs-up from the voters, life-size cut-outs, banners and hoardings are creating a riot of colours, in the otherwise lush green Kerala.
As the parties campaign for a winning vote, 19 May will finally unlock the mystery of perception and the reality for people and the electoral candidates in Kerala.
(*A few names in the story have been changed on request)
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