Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) defeat in the Assembly election in neighbouring Karnataka has buoyed Kerala’s ruling front and Opposition.
The CPI(M) and Congress appear optimistic about a more likely middle-of-the-road outcome in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections instead of a saffron wave the BJP has strived hard to stir up in south India, particularly Kerala.
Both parties reckon that the Centre’s attempt to fire up Hindu nationalism, its “grandstanding” about high-profile “giveaways” such as the Vande Bharath Express for Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma as evinced in his high decibel roadshow in Kochi and glad-handing of Church leaders might not be enough for the BJP to upend the State’s traditional voting patterns.
The CPI(M) seems chary of interpreting the Karnataka election results as the precursor of a Congress-led national alternative to the BJP and has pitched for a loose alliance for secular forces and regional powers opposed to the Sangh Parivar instead.
Speaking to reporters in Kannur, CPI(M) State secretary M. V. Govindan said the CPI(M) regarded each State as a “separate unit”, which called for region-specific tactics and understandings to outpace the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He did not see a Congress comeback at the national level despite the party’s win in Karnataka.
The CPI(M)‘s Kerala unit has repeatedly drawn the line at any understanding with the Congress, given the latter’s “neo-liberal economic outlook and soft Hindutva line”.
Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan said the Congress fought the Karnataka elections on an anti-corruption platform. It would do the same in Kerala, where the CPI(M) “graft pervaded CPI(M) rule”.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran said the CPI(M) should be mindful that Keralites in Karnataka rallied behind Rahul Gandhi’s secular-democratic agenda.
BJP State President K. Surendran said the Congress kowtowed to Islamist forces and dangled affirmative action for Muslims in education and employment to wring victory in Karnataka.
However, Congress failed to make any dent in BJP’s 36% vote share. The JD(S) vote share plummeted from 18% to 13%.
As the CPI(M), Congress and BJP square off against each other ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Karnataka Assembly election results have thrown up a set of new political ground realities the opponents must face at the husting.
