Left blames defeat on swing in BJP, communal votes

By C. Gouridasan Nair

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 14.The CPI(M) and CPI have attributed the LDF's defeat in the Assembly election to large-scale transfer of BJP votes and consolidation of communal votes in favour of the UDF.

The two parties have also pointed out that though the LDF has been defeated, the front's support base has not suffered any serious erosion. The one point on which the two parties seem to differ is the CPI perception that a strong anti-Government sentiment among the people was also one of the major reasons for the LDF's defeat. The CPI(M) does not seem to fully share this view.

The LDF convener, Mr. V.S. Achuthanandan, told The Hindu that besides consolidation of the communal votes behind the UDF, the pauperisation of the farmers and farm workers on account of the fall in the prices of agriculture produce had done much harm to the LDF's electoral prospects. ``The people naturally blamed the State Government for all their woes and since we were in Government, we could not but be on the defensive,'' he said.

The CPI(M) State secretary, Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan, said the hardening of communal votes was particularly evident in South Kerala where several communal outfits besides the BJP and the PDP seemed bent on harming the LDF's chances. A Muslim consolidation across the State was accentuated in the Travancore area by a Christian consolidation as well. But despite all this, the LDF could more or less keep its popular base intact, he said.

The CPI leader, Mr. P.K. Vasudevan Nair, said the BJP's role in the UDF's victory was unmistakable. In 1991, the BJP had transferred votes in 40 constituencies. But they did so discreetly. However, this time round, they had thrown all caution to the winds and openly diverted votes to the UDF, he said.

The RSP State secretary, Prof. T.J. Chandrachoodan, said the LDF was faced with a three-pronged attack from the communal combine, the UDF and the media and accused the UDF of having sold off secular values for power. The UDF victory, he said, was a blot on the State's secular and democratic traditions and predicted that the Congress would one day have to tender apologies to the people for its mistake.

The CPI(M) and CPI positions on the poll outcome were also contained in separate statements issued by the two parties here this evening. The CPI(M) State secretariat, which met here today for a stock-taking exercise, concluded that there was a hardening of the communal votes in favour of the UDF even as outfits such as the BJP and PDP went all out to ensure a UDF victory. The Secretariat said in a statement that the CPI(M) and the LDF would examine the reasons for the front's defeat in detail and learn appropriate lessons.

The CPI(M) Secretariat said the senior Congress leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran's statement that he had informed the party high command about those who had gone for talks with the BJP leadership, the BJP president, Mr. Jana Krishnamoorthy's statement that his party's sole aim was to defeat the Left and Mr. A. K. Antony's assertion that the UDF would welcome votes from any quarters were all clear proof of the communal mobilisation that took place in favour of the UDF.

LDF base intact: The CPI(M) leadership pointed out that preliminary estimates showed that there was only a 0.05 per cent fall in the LDF's vote share as compared to that in the 1996 Assembly election when it emerged victorious. In 1991, the LDF had secured 45.80 per cent of the popular votes even as it went down. In 1996, the vote share dipped marginally to 44.73 per cent and in this election to 44.68 per cent. Which meant that the LDF lost only because the UDF gained BJP, PDP and other communal votes.

According to the CPI(M) Secretariat, what has happened in Kerala is a ``strong and extensive hardening'' of communal votes against the Left and democratic forces. It felt that there was nothing praise-worthy in the UDF policy of granting political acceptability to communal forces. The UDF stand would lead to strong intervention in State politics by the extremist fringe among the communal forces and this would result in fresh tensions in Kerala society, it said.

The CPI(M) Secretariat conceded that the LDF was unable to explain the reasons for the travails of the farm sector or clear the people's misconceptions about the financial crunch in the State. The liquor lobby also worked overtime to defeat the LDF on account of the changes that the LDF Government had brought about in the liquor policy. The CPI(M) secretariat discounted the possibility of the CITU having played any role in the LDF's defeat. The CPI(M) and the trade union had worked in total unity in the poll arena, it said.

Shift in BJP votes: The CPI State secretary, Mr. Veliyam Bhargavan, said in a statement that the fall in the BJP votes from 8 per cent in the 1999 Lok Sabha election to 5 per cent this time clearly showed that the BJP had transferred 3 per cent votes to the UDF. In the Thiruvananthapuram North constituency, the BJP vote share had fallen from 30,769 in the 1999 Lok Sabha poll to a paltry 6,724 votes indicating a fall of a whopping 24,045 votes.

In Thiruvananthapuram East, the BJP votes fell by 16,580 votes. The UDF's victory margin here was 14,068 votes. In constituencies such as Nemom, Neyyattinkara, Pattambi, Ponnani, Varkala, Karunagappally and Chadayamangalam, the UDF won only because of help from the BJP and PDP.

He predicted that the jubilation in the UDF camp would be shortlived. The differences in the UDF would surface soon. For the very same reason, the UDF would not be able to provide stable governance or solve Kerala's problems, Mr. Bhargavan said.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : State Elections
Previous : Double blow for BJP in Assam
Next     : Was there a conspiracy to defeat VS?