Dissent is brewing in the Kerala CPI(M) over the State leadership’s alleged move to field celebrities as candidates in crucial constituencies for the May 16 Assembly election by neglecting partymen with proven track records and popular young leaders as well as its feeder organisations.
Those who oppose the alleged move to field film and media personalities as lDF candidates allege that this is indicative of the leadership’s growing affinity to “cheap bourgeois tendencies” by which politics and ideology take a back seat in the party’s scheme of things and populism beginning to occupy their position.
Close on the heels of the protests seen in Wadakanchery over the selection of 69-year-old film actress KPAC lalitha as left candidate, dissent is growing in the Kollam district unit of against the leadership’s decision to field film star Mukesh as the candidate in the Kollam constituency which has a history of electing Marxist leaders like PK Gurudasan, former Minister.
The name of Mukesh for candidature was proposed by none other than State party secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at a meeting of the Kollam district secretariat after the forum faced difficulty in finding a person to contest in the seat. The party had decided not to field sitting member Gurudasan again as he had already represented the constituency twice.
“We hold nothing against Mukesh. His father was a CPI leader. But he has never been a party man nor has he shown any interest in becoming a full-time political worker. What was then the compulsion for the party leadership to propose him for candidatureIJ” asked a district committee member.
He agreed that film stars had become party candidates in the past also but argued that this seemed to be a trend now. “Was winnability the criterion when they thought of making KPAC lalitha the candidate in WadakancheryIJ Was it better representation of Kollam that the party secretary had in mind when he proposed Mukesh’s name. I don’t think so,” he said.
The CPI(M) in Kollam district had seen intense protests in the past couple of days over the leadership’s bid to deny tickets to sitting member Aisha Potti in Kottarakkara. Poster campaigns by partymen had taken place throughout the constituency following which the party was forced to drop the move.
Objections have already come up to the reported move by the CPI(M)’s Pathanamthitta district leadership to make TV personality Veena George the left candidate in Aranmula constituency. It is alleged that Veena’s name is being considered because of her glamour as a TV personality and her connections with the Church.
However, the official leadership is claiming that most of the reports appearing in the media about candidate selection in the CPI(M) and the lDF are based on speculations and rumours and a clear picture will emerge only when the process is over. “You will know when the decision is taken,” said a State committee member.
Incidentally, the CPI(M) is not the only party which is considering film stars to be fielded as candidates in the coming election. The Congress-led UDF is most likely to field popular actor Jagadeesh as its candidate in Pathanapuram in Kollam district where another movie star, KB Ganesh Kumar, sitting MlA, is contesting.
“I don’t know how other persons from the film field are viewing politics. But I assure you that I am preparing to enter this field with absolute conviction about what it demands from me. I won’t see politics as a part-time job,” Jagadeesh said.