THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/KOZHIKODE: One of the jokes that went viral after the Left front’s electoral drubbing was that of a group of UDF leaders standing in reverence in front of a portrait of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and singing in chorus: Pinarayi ee veedinde aishwaryam (Pinarayi is a blessing for this home)!
On Saturday, Pinarayi Vijayan asserted he won’t change his style of functioning despite the humiliating defeat of his front. “I won’t change my ways because I’m what I’m because of my ways,” he said in the first-ever interaction with the media after the poll results were out. The statement was like an after-dinner wine for the Opposition. Congress was more than happy to welcome it. “We too don’t want him to change his style. In fact, he should continue this way,” said Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala.
“What the Chief Minister implies is the people committed some sort of a mistake. He says his government did not do any wrong and he won’t change his ways. This is exactly what we want. The CM should proceed like this,” he said. The election results were the people’s verdict against the governments of Narendra Modi and Pinarayi Vijayan, Chennithala said. The results reflect the people’s ire against the non-performing state government.
“The CM is not ready to learn a lesson from the verdict. The CM’s reluctance to change shows the depths to which his front has deteriorated,” Chennithala said.
Pinarayi’s response showed his feudal mindset, KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran said. He deserves an international award for arrogance, if there is one, he said.