By Kallara Ajayan
The opposition parties in Kerala claim Pinarayi Vijayan as the most corrupt Chief Minister the state has ever had. Surprisingly, it is not a matter of discussion among the voters in Kerala.
Despite a section endorsing the opposition claim, a large number of them want to vote for him. Election Observers may be surprised by this phenomenon.
Keralam is always such a society and people are least bothered about corruption and violence. They have other considerations. Caste and religion are the main ingredients in the Kerala politics even as religious extremist groups are very active in the state. And the leftist Government is very eager to protect their interest.
This is the major reason for the popularity of Vijayan despite all odds. Moreover, he is brilliant in appeasing the most populous Hindu Ezhava caste. These factors give him confidence to face the people in spite of the massive corruption.
Above all central agencies are very slow in investigation against his charges. Gold smuggling cases and dollar smuggling are very serious and anti-national but even now the NIA is silent. The right-wing sympathisers are sceptical of this silence. They are surprised why NIA is allegedly lethargic in dealing with the Kerala issues. Another corruption case, Lavalin bribery case, is still pending in Supreme court.
Another theory of pending cases against the Left leaders are however going against. For, a section believed voting Left to power would be futile as its top leaders were bound to face legal action in the corruption cases.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing to increase its footprint and enhance vote share with the entry of “Metroman” E Sreedharan. The party would definitely get a mileage from the face but could not expect much for an electoral gain as BJP delayed to launch Sreedharan.
Ramesh Chennithala, the chief ministerial candidate of Congress coalition is free from corruption charges. But he has no sufficient caste or religious support in the state. Most of his supporters believe after the election he will be betrayed by the Congress party and the chief ministership will go to Oommen Chandy, a Christian leader.
Jacobites, a major Christian group in Kerala, is seriously considering to support the BJP in order to solve their disputes with another Christian group, orthodox. If this equation materialises, BJP will be in a better position.
Interestingly, almost all the media groups support Left front and Pinarayi when it comes to report on corruption and violence inflicted by the Communist cadre. Naturally, it created confusion among the common people. The fake survey reports and false news are in circulation to support Pinarayi.
It is believed that a section of media is funded by the religious extremist groups and the government itself. And it could be gauged by the state’s books; the expenditure of the public relation department had been pegged at over Rs 900 crore that is all time high.
(The author is a senior writer and political commentator in Kerala. The views expressed are his personal)
