The focus — positively and negatively — is on Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Round 1 of the campaign for the lok Sabha polls in Kerala for which a start has already been made by the State’s political parties. Modi himself would be giving an informal start to the BJP’s poll preparations during his Kerala visit on Wednesday.
Muslim league, second largest constituent of the Congress-led ruling UDF, has taken the lead in the campaign based entirely on its permanent policy of consolidating its Muslim vote-bank. As it has already completed three of its constituency conventions, it is clear that the party is determined to use its anti-Modi rhetoric for this purpose, at least through the initial stage.
“Nobody should dream of creating polarisation in this country,” said State Muslim league president Panakkad Hyderali Shihab Thangal while inaugurating his party’s Wayanad constituency convention on Sunday. “The Modi phenomenon will have no effect in Kerala,” he said giving clear indications about his party’s strategy.
The league had launched its own individual campaign for the election as it had become obvious that the process by the UDF would be delayed due to the protracted group wars within the Congress, disputes between Congress and allies and the controversies over the infamous solar scam in which Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is allegedly involved.
That the Muslim league would demand three seats instead of the present two in the coming lok Sabha elections was obvious from the speech of PK Kunhalikutty, senior leader and State Industries Minister. “Though Congress candidates had won from Kannur and Vadakara (in the last election), the victory was actually league’s. The same was the case with Wayanad,” he said.
The Muslim league has traditionally been contesting the Malappuram and Ponnani constituencies while front leader Congress has been contesting in 17 of the total 20 lok Sabha seats in the State. However, its victory in 20 of the 23 seats it had contested in the 2011 Assembly polls has emboldened the league to demand one more lok Sabha seat.
It is certain that the Muslim league’s strategy is to use the anti-Modi slogan in order to whip up the ‘minority sentiments’ of the Muslim voters in the current situation where it is difficult for it to focus on the achievements of the party or the UDF Government in the context of serious allegations of corruption, mis-governance and scams.
The BJP’s poll campaign, for which it has prepared elaborate plans, will get an informal start on Wednesday with Modi participating in a leadership meeting of the party in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday when he visits the State for participating in the 60th birthday celebrations of spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi at her Ashram in Kollam on Thursday.
The BJP’s strategy this time is to concentrate its energies on seats where it can prove is mettle. The party, which is eager to end its electoral drought in the State, feels that winning the Thiruvananthapuram lok Sabha seat need not be impossible provided it puts up united efforts and cashes in on the popularity of its prime ministerial candidate in the right manner.
The Congress, riddled with an unprecedentedly intense faction war between the Chief Minister and the State party chief, is in no position to launch its poll campaign at this stage but a serious review of the situation would be undertaken at the end of this week when party president Sonia Gandhi arrives in the State on September 29 on a two-day visit.
The CPI(M)-led Opposition lDF, hoping to scores of a huge victory this time, also will launch its initial campaign soon as per the decisions of a meeting of the leadership to be held on October 1. The left’s main campaign weapon against the UDF will be the solar scam and it may also focus on the anti-Modi slogan to appeal to the hard-line elements in the Muslim community.