... But is it safe in Kerala?
There’s already a sure sign of the Red fade in Kerala – its campaign for re-election is increasingly acerbic, personal.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s camp set the tone for a political campaign replete with scandal by reviving the ice-cream parlour sex scandal case to snipe at the Indian Union Muslim League leader and former industry minister P.K. Kunhalikutty.
UDF cadres, who were until then brimming with confidence, first ran for cover, and then retaliated by targeting Achuthanandan and his son Arunkumar.
UDF leaders have now recovered confidence. “The CPI (M)'s gameplan has been exposed," says opposition leader Oommen Chandy. "If they thought they could win by muckraking, they should realise that the mud sticks more on them. I don't see any major shift in the poll outcome from the UDF landslides in the Lok Sabha and local council polls".
His optimism is also founded on Kerala's time-tested pattern of alternating governance between the Left and the Congress collations. But, as former MP Sebastian Paul says, this time the pattern may change and Achuthanandan, with his refurbished image, may well be able to swing it for the Left. The CPI(M)-led LDF, unlike the Congress-led UDF which is swollen with demanding junior allies, is first off the block, allotting seats and fixing candidates. As the vexed Kerala PCC president Ramesh Chennithala put it: "We need at least 200 seats to meet the demands of our partners". For the CPI(M), contesting and winning the maximum number of seats on its own is a priority, lest it risk losing the status of a national party.
Interestingly, the oldies club in Kerala has always been the most agile in grabbing tickets, a pattern unlikely to change even this time despite the decision by most parties, including the Congress, to keep out three-time legislators from Assembly polls.
At 87, Achuthanandan leads the club, and for company on the opposite side is ex-comrade and veteran politician Ms K.R. Gowri, aged 92. She heads the Janadhipathaya Samrakshana Samiti.
The Congress's chief minister contender is Opposition leader Oommen Chandy, 68. His team leaders in the UDF include former electricity minister Aryadan Mohammed, 76, and former law minister K.M. Mani, 78.
Clearly, this time too, the state is heading for a fight led by ageing veterans using worn-out strategies of mutual recrimination and scandal even as real issues are swept under the carpet.
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