Lessons from the Kerala local body elections
There are two significant takeaways from the ruling Left Front’s victory in the Kerala local body elections. One, the corruption allegations and probe by multiple central agencies have not been able to cause any significant damage to either CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s popularity or the Left’s support base in the state. Two, the Congress-led UDF, which expectedly finished second, and the third-by-some-distance BJP don’t seem to have answers for the Left’s superior election strategies.
The outcome has taken away a crucial weapon from their armoury—the scam taint on the Pinarayi government that they were hoping could be used to destroy the ruling combination electorally. What that means is that they have to now go back to the drawing board, ponder over the failures and devise strategies good enough to exploit the political situation to their advantage. And they need to do that quickly as the Assembly election is just months away.
If the Congress is finding itself ruing missed opportunities, it has only itself to blame. Infighting, lack of synergy among leaders, poor strategising and over-dependence on the rival’s perceived political disadvantage contributed to its failure. Having botched the opportunity that presented itself on a platter, the party’s state leadership has a lot to answer for, and a course-correction is in order.
As for the BJP, the result did indicate an improved performance, but the gains made are too meagre to catapult it into the league of the big two. It needs to put its rift-ridden house in order and come up with a Kerala-specific strategy to become a credible political alternative that can win polls. Having said that, the Assembly election will be a different proposition altogether. While a lot of very local factors came into play in the just-concluded election, they may have little relevance in the state polls.
Yet, the victory has infused the Left with new confidence, and this could make a difference. The win has strengthened the CM’s hand. Not only are his chances of securing an unprecedented second consecutive term brighter, the result will also help him quell any challenge to his leadership from within the party. The Left will, however, have to watch out for signs of overconfidence and resultant complacency, which could hurt it.