For a political front that was facing count before the referee declared it a technical knockout, the UDF cannot be blamed for thinking there is light at the end of a very long tunnel. What is surprising is that the light has been provided by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, with a string of incidents where he has been seen as freezing. The latest one is the cynical murder of Youth Congress leader S P Shuhaib allegedly by CPM goons just over a week ago. What has not gone down well, as was the case when cyclone Ockhi wreaked havoc, was the delayed and then tepid response from the chief minister.
Unlike the allegations and counter-allegations that have marked the many murders involving the CPM and RSS, the Shuhaib murder is threatening to take on a different hue. On Wednesday, the Kannur peace talks called by the state government fizzled out when the elected CPM leaders, including the chief minister, chose to be at Thrissur for the inaugural function of the party state conference. As if on cue, K K Rema, the widow of the slain CPM leader T P Chandrasekharan, has started a dharna in front of AKG Bhavan in Delhi—something the CPM leadership back home may ignore, but is potentially damaging.
What is not going down particularly well with the public is the chief minister’s skewed selection of issues on his social media accounts. Thus, Oru Adaar Love and Kamal Haasan’s political foray get prominence over issues closer home.
While the apparatchiks of Kannur have not exactly helped their comrade with their frequent muscle flexing, many are busy connecting the dots and mapping a pattern. Sure, the mood has changed. Not too long ago people were talking of how it would be difficult to unseat the LDF in the coming elections. There is a parallel in how only a few months ago the BJP was predicted a runaway winner in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The script is clearly changing as days go by. And it underlines the only constant in politics—change.