Spiralling prices of daily essentials and lack of employment opportunities for young people are issues that will sway voters in Kerala as the country prepares for the Lok Sabha elections. However, there is a feeling that it is unpredictable how and how seriously these issues will be reflected in the voting given that a host of issues have crowded the stage with the incumbent party in the Union facing allegations of large-scale corruption over electoral bonds and high-handedness in the overall administration of justice.
If the latest data released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is any indication, the labour situation is gloomy and needs to be truly reflected in the elections, said a researcher on employment and employment trends. The ILO has painted a grim picture of the situation, and “unemployment rate and other key labour data showed a long-term deterioration between 2000 and 2018,” reported the ILO findings.
The researcher based in Kochi said that unemployment and poverty are issues that directly affect people and should find their reflection in the voting. The ILO data said that a vast majority of the jobless Indians are young people and that the proportion of unemployed but educated young people has almost doubled from the 2000 level.
A report in February this year indicated that Kerala continued to be dogged by high unemployment rate, especially among those in the 15-29 age group. The unemployment rate in the State is 28.7% against the national average of 10%, according to a report citing the Periodic Labour Force Survey of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly V. D. Satheesan said both unemployment and inflation are issues that will sway the voters during the upcoming election. He said that both the private and public sector companies are not making new recruitments in the State, contrary to government claims. He also said that many of the big private employers are going in for voluntary retirement schemes too. While no substantial employment opportunities are being created, the IT sector is stagnating, he added.
Twenty20 chief coordinator and Kitex Garments MD Sabu M. Jacob said in the immediate past two elections, Kerala voters were troubled by the floods of 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this round of Lok Sabha polls will be strongly influenced by the spiralling cost of living, a big crunch in cash flow, and rampant unemployment.
Mr. Jacob said not only food items, even services cost heavy now. He said that over the last five years, the price of commodities and services have gone up, in some cases even up to 50%. Cash crunch has forced the poor even to forgo their prescription medicines, and Kerala’s unemployment scenario is a major factor, he added.
Inflation trend too will sway the choice of the voters strongly, feels veteran consumer activist Dejo Kappen. He said people in Kerala are not going to the polls this time to elect Lok Sabha members, but to make their voices heard on issues like inflation and unemployment, he said on Wednesday. He added that what he said was based on his recent experience travelling across the State.
The price of pulses has seen a substantial increase over the last one year, whereas rice and cooking oil trends look under control. However, what has hit the lower-middle class and the poor is the recent decision by the State government to substantially reduce subsidies on items sold through Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco), said the Opposition leader. He said many of the Supplyco outlets have no stocks, and the welfare pension payments too have been delayed, plunging the poor into deep trouble.
Mr. Satheesan also said that the government is unable to make any serious market intervention as it usually does during the festive seasons like Christmas and New Year, Vishu, Easter, and Ramzan.
Mr. Kappen said that delay in pension and salary payments have found people with recurring payment obligations like EMIs in serious difficulty as they become defaulters before their lenders. These issues are grave concerns for the voters, he added.
