It was a fight between caste might and politics in five assembly constituencies in Kerala, where byelections were held on Monday. And, as the results are out, politics has won hands down.
The Congress-led UDF won three seats while the CPI(M)-led LDF bagged two in the bypolls, seen as a curtain-raiser for the 2021 assembly polls. The BJP has drawn a blank in all the five seats.
The election campaign stood out with the aggressive postures of the communal and religious organisations unlike previous times when these forces used to play it rather covertly. Most prominent was the direct venture of the Nair Service Society (NSS) into electoral politics. Shedding its equidistant policy with the UDF and the LDF, the NSS openly declared its support for the Congress candidates this time. The organisation issued diktat asking its members to vote for the Congress candidate in Vattiyoorkavu, while in Konni it even got a candidate replaced with its own nominee.
The result was that Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V.K. Prashant, whom the NSS had opposed tooth and nail, won Vattiyoorkavu constituency with a stunning margin of nearly 15,000 votes. The fact that the CPI(M) was in the third position in the last Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections in this constituency, adds more value to his victory.
Apart from its antipathy towards the CPI(M) over the issue of entry of women in Sabarimala, what made the NSS turn against Prasanth was that the ruling party dared to field a non-Nair candidate in a constituency where Nairs are a dominant force (42 per cent). The CPI(M), however, refused to budge. By giving a thumping majority to Prasanth, voters in Vattiyoorkavu have proved that politics stands much ahead of casteist sentiments in their minds.
Similar is the case in Konni, an assembly constituency in the proximity of Sabarimala temple. The voters in Konni, which again has a dominant Nair presence, opted for Jaleesh Kumar of the CPI(M) despite the fact that the Congress candidate was a direct nominee of the NSS.
Another interesting aspect about Konni is that leaders of the Orthodox faction among the Christians had openly declared their support to BJP candidate K. Surendran. But he came a distant third.
Similar is the fate of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) leader Vellappally Natesan in Aroor constituency. He had openly favoured the LDF candidate, but voters opted Shanimol Usman of the Congress.
“It is the victory of democracy over casteist and communal politics. Once again it has been proved that Malayalee votes politically,'' said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
This sentiment was echoed by lawyer-activist Harish Vasudevan. “The verdict has proved that caste leaders have no space in Kerala's politics. Those parties which have defied the diktats of caste leaders deserve special appreciation,” he said.
Of the five seats, four were sitting seats of the UDF and one was in the hands of the CPI(M). The fact that the CPI(M) could win Vattiyoorkavu and Konni—two constituencies where Sabarimala sentiments ran deeper and wider—is indeed a major confidence booster for the LDF which had faced a near decimation in the Lok Sabha elections. Both were sitting seats of the Congress party and this time the LDF won them with a thumping majority.
Though the Congress could retain Ernakulam, its traditional bastion, the fact that its winning margin is mere 3,750 votes does not give a sense of elation to the UDF. But the thumping victory of the Indian Union Muslim League candidate in Manjeswaram constituency in Kasaragod is indeed good news to the UDF ally, which had been going through a lot of internal bickering these days. Here, the LDF came a distant third.
The Congress can heave a sigh of relief as it could snatch Aroor from the CPI(M). It is for the first time that a Congress candidate is winning in Aroor, considered a strong bastion of the Left. Shanimol Usman won the constituency with a margin of 2,079 votes. Also, the fact that the minority communities are still behind it—as was evident in the results of Ernakulam, Manjeswaram and Aroor—should be a piece of happy news for the UDF.
Kerala has had six bypolls held, including the one in Pala where the LDF won last month. Now with the latest results, both the fronts have got equal footing. “We are certainly grateful to the people for trusting the LDF,'' said CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
The results must indeed be an eye opener for the UDF which had got carried away by the victory of 19 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. “We could have easily won all the seats, but we did not. We will certainly look into what went wrong,” said KPCC president Mullapally Ramachandran.
The results have already aggravated the internal bickering within the Congress with strong feelings being expressed against opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and the KPCC president. A section within the Congress has already started demanding that former chief minister Oommen Chandy be brought back as the next CM candidate of the UDF.
The victim in the Kerala bypolls, however, is the BJP. Not only did the party fail to open an account, but it also fell down from its previous margins. It could show some strength only in Manjeswaram where it came second.
The results of these byelections, considered to be a precursor to the Assembly elections which is only one-and-a-half years away, have certainly made the politics in the state more interesting.
