The United Democratic Front and the Left Democratic Front are optimistic about a positive result in the Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP is hopeful of opening its account in Kerala politics.
The election outcome has different meanings for political parties. A tally in the range of eight to 12 for the UDF will be a set back for Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who had asserted all through the campaign that the election will be a referendum of sorts on the performance of his government. It is sheer coincidence that the Lok Sabha results should come out virtually on the eve of his government’s third anniversary.
The spread of the victory will also be crucial because of the Congress’s high stakes in its core constituencies in central Travancore and Malabar, where it is locked in a tough battle with the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
A breakthrough in the Lok Sabha elections has become an imperative for the CPI (M). It had led the Left Democratic Front in a better frame of mind, with incidence of schism at much lower levels.
Winning additional seats in Malabar will be a game changer for the party since it will be able to leave behind the difficult days its district leadership had to face in the aftermath of the T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case.
A higher tally will also vindicate the party’s experiment in fielding as many as ten candidates from various minority communities, particularly those who could not get along well with the UDF for one reason or the other.
Its performance in Pathanamthitta and Idukki will also be keenly watched.
The result will also indicate the shifting voting behaviour of the Muslim community in some of the constituencies in Malabar, especially since the advent of Narendra Modi at the head of the BJP’s election campaign trail. All eyes will be on BJP candidate O. Rajagopal, who is making his umpteenth attempt to make a breakthrough for his party for more than two decades.
Party workers swear that the systematic election work put in by them will see Mr. Rajagopal through.
