With just five days to go for the counting of votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, situation in Kerala looks fluid as well as tense with both the fronts —UDF and the LDF — keeping their fingers crossed about the outcome of the polls. Though the official news channel of the CPI(M) in its opinion poll held after the election had claimed with enthusiasm that the LDF would win 16 out of the 20 seats at stake, the channel is silent about the same and has focused its attention on ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his speeches. The CPI(M) has an exclusive wing specialised in producing and airing cyber capsules for the same.
The CPI(M) has also sent word through its court jesters that in the eventuality of the Congress fails to win a respectable number of seats, the party would demand Pinarayi Vijayan be appointed as Prime Minister. They have also put forward the name of A Vijayaraghavan, polit bureau member, as PM candidate if Vijayan opts out of the race citing poor health. Friends of R Bindu, Minister for Higher Education in the LDF Government, has been saying that she has started packing household articles to be shifted to New Delhi.
But the top priority for the CPI(M) is the allocation of the lone Rajya Sabha seats among the constituents in the LDF. The CPI, the Kerala Congress (Mani) and RJD have staked their claims for the lone seat for which election is scheduled for June 25. The CPI, the poor cousin of the CPI(M) has pleaded with the big brother that its nominee Binoy Viswam be fielded as the LDF candidate because his presence would be very much needed in New Delhi for resolving national and international issues that may raise once the INDI Alliance government is sworn in. “Binoy Viswam is a globally accepted person and has a wide network of friends across the world. He is also a poet of reputation having authored poems about Fidel Castro and Rohit Vemula,” said A Jayashankar, political critic.
But if the CPI(M) overlooks the demand of KC(M) that its chairman Jose K Mani be nominated as Rajya Sabha candidate, the latter would get upset and is likely to cross over to the UDF. For Jose K Mani, son of KC(M) founder K M Mani, Rajya Sabha is the only means to reach the parliament as he is incapable of winning the Lok Sabha or Assembly elections.
The Congress is facing an existential crisis in Kerala as there are many leaders who are getting ready to leave the party in search of greener pastures. K Muraleedharan, the Congress candidate from Thrissur, has made it known in the executive committee of the KPCC that party leaders in Thrissur stabbed him from all sides by not ensuring that the Congress workers vote en masse. Though he was silent about the names of party leaders, he was targeting T N Prathapan, the sitting MP from Thrissur. Padmaja Venugopal, sister of Muraleedharan, who crossed over to the BJP before the election had told The Pioneer that Muraleedharan was certain to lose the election . “He will join the BJP once the results are declared. When I left the Congress and joined the BJP, I spread a green carpet to welcome him. It is sure there would be a massive exodus from the Congress to the BJP,” Padmaja had said.
The candidates in both the fronts are tense but the electorates are watching the goings on in Kerala a la a comedy show.
