THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the last lap of campaigning for the assembly elections, the larger political narrative is set to witness a change. The Left, which was initially keen to set up a narrative of a contest between just the LDF and the BJP, has now begun training its guns on the UDF. On the other hand, the UDF and the BJP have been trying hard to bring the gold smuggling scam and Sabarimala back to the centrestage.
Speculation is rife that yet another political bombshell will be dropped to create ripples in the campaign space towards the fag end of electioneering. A slew of allegations like communal campaigns by the Left purportedly targeting the Muslim League and the Jamaat-e-Islami, Sabarimala issue, gold and dollar smuggling scams, deep-sea fishing row and bogus votes came up for discussion over the past few weeks.
Undoubtedly, the one narrative that dominated the campaign space throughout has been the Left charge of an unholy nexus between the UDF and the BJP. The Left has been harping on a second Co-Le-B alliance that had shaped well before the polls. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led the Left offensive over an alleged hidden alliance among the Opposition parties.
In the backdrop of BJP veteran O Rajagopal having hinted at tacit support from the UDF last time, Pinarayi kept up a scathing attack on the UDF. The narrative got a fresh lease of life with a recent statement by BJP’s Suresh Gopi that UDF candidate K N A Khader should win from Guruvayur and that LDF candidate A N Shamseer should lose from Thalassery.
The Left has been trying hard to set the political narrative between the LDF and the BJP so as to negate the very presence of the UDF. Realising that, the Congress has been careful to attack both the LDF and the BJP with equal vigour. Though the UDF tried its best to cash in on RSS ideologue Balashankar’s allegation about a CPM-BJP understanding at Konni and neighbouring constituencies, its efforts proved a dud.
Congress veteran A K Antony who predicted that the LDF continuing in power will prove disastrous to Kerala, later alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah would end up exhorting saffron cadre to vote for the Left. One thing that both the Congress and the BJP have been trying to establish is a lack of clarity in the Left stance over Sabarimala and the constant stream of revelations pouring out in the gold smuggling case. While Modi and Shah, along with other BJP leaders, kept harping on Sabarimala and smuggling, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi focused only on the smuggling case. The Left front has however been making a special effort to shift the focus onto its welfare schemes.
Meanwhile, talks have risen over the likelihood of a political bombshell in the coming days. On Tuesday, Pinarayi hinted that there could be major provocations by the Opposition to divert public sentiment.“With just a week remaining for the polls, slated for April 6, the Left enjoys a clear edge though its confidence-level has sagged a bit,” said political commentator J Prabhash. “Most of the current political narratives are not based on concrete plans. The three fronts have nothing of their own to offer regarding basic people’s issues. And that’s exactly why momentary issues take centrestage,” he opined.
What is unfolding now is ‘safety-net’ politicking, he said. “Take for example the welfare pensions — each front only adds to it. No one is ready to deal with concrete issues and that’s why any incidental remark made by anyone and everyone hogs the electoral limelight,” he added.