THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On May 18, 2006, a sea of humanity surrounded V.S. Achuthanandan and team when they took oaths of office and secrecy at Chandrasekharan Nair stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. The people were ecstatic as they had pinned all their hopes in VS, who had by then been identified as their ‘karanavar.’ Five years later, when the same government seeks the people’s mandate once again, the masses and their enthusiasm are missing.
The question uppermost in the minds of the people now is whether LDF can repeat its 2006 performance. History is against an LDF victory. Never has an incumbent front been voted back to power in the state.
Kerala voters unseat those in power every five years. Now the LDF chances depend much on the candidature of VS. The voters may reaffirm their faith in VS, but not in Pinarayi. Hence the inner- party debates in the coming days will be crucial for the front.
The landslide win of the LDF in 2006 was largely due to the image of Achuthanandan. True, there was a loss of credibility for VS following the Munnar fiasco and his compromises with the party after being demoted to the Central Committee. But the well-known developments in the past two months have helped VS don the mantle of a crusader again.
This government has launched some innovative schemes that earned it bouquets from all sections of people. With decisions on farmers’ debt relief commission, Rs 2/kg rice even to APL families, the VS government has tried to portray itself as pro-people. The Farmers’ Debt Relief Commission could help end farmer suicides and this initiative was later copied by the UPA government at the Centre.
Another historic step by the VS-government was creating a land bank and distributing land to the landless. By supplementing the land distribution with the EMS housing project, the government could ensure that there are no homeless persons in the state.
The government could hike welfare pensions and ensure that beneficiaries got pensions on time. More people were included in the pension net.
ELECTION SHOCKERS
In 2009 and 2010, the LDF faced rude shocks in the Lok Sabha and local body elections. The LDF was reduced to a four-seat front in the Lok Sabha poll while it lost more than half of the local bodies. But these shockers helped the party gear up for the final battle.
During the local body polls, factors ranging from the anti-incumbency feelings at the panchayat level to the anger of the voter against the reforms in building rules had hit the front badly.
It won’t be fair to say that people voted against the government initiatives, as in places like Kollam the party could win several panchayats where beneficiaries of LDF’s social welfare schemes formed the majority of voters. But the CPM learnt its lessons from its defeats. As a result, it is now a truly secular front - one akin to the LDF in 1987 which was accepted by Kerala voters - that doesn’t compromise with communal forces.
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