IDUKKI: Are the Tamil votes in the plantation areas of the spicerich Idukki Lok Sabha segment likely to display a shift from its past pattern and thereby upset the calculations of the main contenders? The nearly two lakh votes of those of Tamil origin, spread over the high-altitude Peermade, Devikulam (SC) and Udumbanchola assembly segments falling under the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency, are subject to varying undercurrents this time, especially in the first two segments.
The highly sensitive Tamil voters, most of them falling under the dalit category, emphatically respond to the livelihood and purely local issues, even while swearing by the deep commitment to their political leanings and word of ‘Enka Thalaivar’, ie., the leader of their union as well as casteist pulls.
However, the vote bank is of an unstable character, swinging collectively to either side of the political fence, forcing contesting parties to work overtime to ensure their support.
The High Range estate workers have shown an inclination towards great political leaders such as Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and had gone along a wave when they were martyred.
But the general voting character is essentially based on local issues.
Various trade unions (TUs) of the communist parties and the Congress have carved their own areas of influence among the labour force in the High Range areas. The hegemony of the Left among plantation labourers is a thing of the past, with TUs aligned with the Congress also gaining foothold over years. It is another matter that many TU leaders have become a rich lot, while the living conditions of the workers are almost the same even after decades.
One of the interesting phenomenon in the current polls is that the Munnar demolition drive is not a big issue before plantation labourers in the Devikulam (SC) Assembly segment as it was assessed as one against land encroachers and resort owners.
All moves will be made to belittle the CPM and the LDF and thereby send a message, but estate workers seem to remain aloof from such a mindset.
There are more than a 80,000 strong workforce of Tamilian origin in the segment and the CITU and the INTUC have considerable influence among them. But the trend of many opting for VRS and leaving the place, with an estimated 10,000 such cases reported so far, has been taken note of by political parties.
In Peermade segment, more than half of the estimated 80,000 workers had left the area in search of greener pastures in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere owing to the lingering crisis in plantation sector. Five large tea estates are still remaining closed in the belt and in the few ones, which were opened after a long spell of closure, it is just a hand-to-mouth existence for workers- a far cry from the days of comfortably sustained life for the folk earlier.
Though the government has declared a wage hike, the nonpayment of arrears by managements and the TU leadership’s ineffectiveness on this score are burning issues for labourers.
The controversial sale of a big estate which had been remaining closed for long owing to a dispute with the PF Board and financial institutions, to another private group, without protecting the interests of workers is a debating point.
While the AITUC, the TU wing of the CPI, has a dominant influence among workers in the Peermade taluk, along with an equally strong following for the CITU and the Congress, the LDF should have gained a clear edge while facing the electorate. But the local infighting between the AITUC and the CITU is likely to have an adverse bearing for the LDF in the polls, even though sitting MP K Francis George is a Kerala Congress (J) nominee and trying to minimise the negative impact. UDF candidate P T Thomas is making a concerted bid to cash in on the situation.
In Udumbanchola also, more than 20 percent of the nearly 50,000 strong Tamilian workforce in the cardamom, tea and coffee sectors have left the area owing to job cuts induced by fall in production and prices of various produces.
The assembly segment is considered as a stronghold of the Left.
Factors including the impact of the stance of the Catholic Church and the Ezhava community may influence the poll outcome in the Idukki Lok Sabha segment on a whole notwithstanding the Tamil votes which will also have a definitely determining role in the poll results.
