Pinarayi 2.0 losing perception battle
Two years on, it’s appraisal time for the second Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala. When the CPM-led LDF won a historic second consecutive term in power, its first-term performance was cited as the main reason. The first five years, from 2016 to 2021, were challenging, and the government had to navigate the state through devastating back-to-back floods, a viral outbreak, and a deadly pandemic. Still, it managed to create an impression of being efficient, decisive, and responsive. This perception helped it whitewash the taint of corruption and nepotism and retain power with a bigger mandate in 2021. However, the government seems to have taken a beating in the perception battle in the second term.
This term has been about a series of missteps. The lack of transparency and clarity in communication has reinforced the theories of inefficiency, corruption, and misgovernance. For example, in the Tanur tragedy, it emerged that ministers ignored complaints about the boat—pointing to inexperience and inefficiency at the least, if not outright collusion. The week-long fire at Brahmapuram dump yard in Kochi in March made the government look clueless. In implementing the AI-powered traffic camera system, the government failed to effectively communicate its side of the story, creating an impression that the project is solely meant for making money, not for road safety.
The government must overcome the perception of having an inexperienced cabinet, fix the struggling economy, ensure transparency in decision-making, and, importantly, be seen as one that delivers on its promises. The LDF election manifesto promised 40 lakh jobs, a welfare pension of Rs 2,500 per month, a doubling of tourism earnings, 50% increase in farmers’ income, among other things, and as things stand now, these seem to be tall promises to keep. It’s a fact that the government is seriously making efforts to ease the burden on its strained finances, but without creating additional revenue sources and adopting stringent austerity measures, it’s unlikely to be able to pull out of the mess it’s currently in. How can a state with a mounting public debt (36% of GSDP) and which has to spend 70% of its revenue on salaries, pensions and interest payments fund additional welfare measures and public projects is a question that should worry the government. The good news is it still has three years to fix the shortcomings and win the perception battle.