For foreign tourists visiting India, the prospect of about a billion voters readying to elect their representatives to Parliament is nothing short of a spectacle. Some of them who are on a tour of Kerala, braving the sultry weather, are particularly awed at posters bearing the symbol of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Among them is Pierre, a 22-year-old postgraduate degree holder in agriculture from Belgium, who has been working at a farm in Puducherry. On a 10-day visit to Kerala, he was amazed at the sight of red flags and posters bearing the hammer and sickle symbol of the CPI(M).
“Back in Belgium, I’ve heard mostly bad things about the Communists of yore. It is interesting to know that a coalition led by a Communist party is ruling a State in India. I also saw what seemed to me both as a protest and a poll campaign with people holding flags and sloganeering while touring Kumily,” he says, seated at Vasco Da Gama Square in the Fort Kochi heritage zone.
He contrasts the heated and colourful style of campaign here with the ‘sedate’ style back in his country, where rival candidates engage in debates on national television. ““However, they sometimes breach some of their promises on coming to power. It is also a big challenge there to create a ‘good Parliament’ after each poll, he wound up.
Belgian tourist Pierre: It’s interesting to know that a coalition led by a Communist party is ruling a State in India. | Photo Credit: John L. Paul
The Hindu then caught up with Lavini, a jewellery designer from Italy, who is learning and also teaches yoga at Varkala, while she was strolling the streets of Fort Kochi.
“I was touring India during the run-up to the then Parliamentary polls and am ever since familiar with the name of Prime Minister Modi, who also happens to be a friend of the Italian Prime Minister. It is good to know that among different States, Kerala is doing relatively well in matters such as gender equality and equity,” she says.
While touring the State by taxi, the sight of posters of candidates of Left parties, among others, caught her attention. “I also saw high decibel campaigns en route to Munnar,” she says.
Having arrived in Kochi earlier in the day on April 9, Yuri and Ayumi, a pair of nursing professionals from Japan, are slowly getting used to the poll campaign.
“We were bowled over by the natural beauty of the city and its waterbodies. Also, slowly getting used to the crowded roads and the loud campaign posters that stare at passers-by in streets. In Japan, one can often see candidates addressing people from the city square. Perhaps we will be able to see that here also,” they say.
