Kerala | It’s experience vs youth as LDF, UDF slug it out in Vadakara

Vadakara was considered a safe seat for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala till 2009.

With its socialist history, the constituency consistently elected candidates from parties like the Praja Socialist Party and later the Socialist Congress until the late 1980s.Over time, it became synonymous with Left-wing politics and transformed into a stronghold for the Left.

What happened in 2009

During the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, a seismic event shook the CPI(M) as TP Chandrasekharan, a prominent leader of both DYFI and CPI(M), led a rebellion within the party, eventually establishing a local communist Marxist faction known as the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP).

Chandrasekharan’s decision to contest the 2009 elections proved catastrophic for CPI(M), leading to the defeat of their incumbent MP P Sathidevi at the hands of Congress candidate Mullappalli Ramachandran. This schism in the party ultimately escalated into the brutal murder of Chandrasekharan in 2012, marking a pivotal moment in the political landscape of Kerala's Leftist circles.

In the aftermath of Chandrasekharan's tragic death, the RMP struck an alliance with the Congress, paving the way for KK Rema to clinch the assembly seat in Vadakara, supported by the UDF.

Notably, despite this political realignment, the electoral data from the assembly elections doesn’t paint a bleak picture for the Left Democratic Front, or LDF. Rema's emergence as the lone non-LDF MLA across the seven assembly segments within the Vadakara constituency is a conspicuous anomaly.

LDF bets on Shailaja

In this election, the LDF, the ruling coalition in the Kerala Assembly, is intensely focused on recapturing the Lok Sabha seat. To this effect, it has put its best foot forward in the form of KK Shailaja, former health minister and sitting MLA of Mattannoor, widely regarded as one of the most accomplished figures in the state. Known popularly as 'Shailaja Teacher', she won praise for her handling of the COVID crisis in Kerala when the pandemic first struck.

Meanwhile, the United Democratic Front, or UDF, had to change its candidate as it was compelled to relocate sitting MP K Muraleedharan to Thrissur, as his sister Padmaja Venugopal defected to the BJP. Shafi Parambil, a vibrant young voice in the Congress and the incumbent MLA of Palakkad, was chosen as the candidate in Vadakara.

This decision sparked unparalleled enthusiasm among the young workers of the UDF, including those of the IUML and RMP, rather than the traditional Congress workers. The Congress is a key constituent of the UDF coalition.

When The Federal met Shafi during this campaign near the Peruvannamuzhi dam in the Kuttiadi assembly segment, he was engaging with people at the government farm in Koothali. Despite feeling fatigued from fasting during Ramzan, he exuded confidence in his ability to secure victory and continue the winning streak of the UDF.

“I was a little late to enter the scene this time, but on reaching Vadakara, the reception I got was overwhelming. It was not staged; now, as the campaign trail progresses, we can feel the crowd is so organic here. I think this is one of the most politically astute electorates in the entire state,” Shafi Parambil told The Federal.

Focus on CAA

“The CAA is undoubtedly one of the major political issues in this election campaign. We were very prompt in condemning the act, and the UDF has already organised several anti-CAA protests, including night marches in the constituency. The LDF, especially the CPI(M), is attempting to leverage CAA even against the Congress, despite our party opposing it. The chief minister is also spreading misinformation, alleging that Rahul Gandhi did nothing for Manipur. However, the people are well aware of the facts,” added Shafi.

“This election is crucial for safeguarding our democracy and secularism. We need to ensure our voices are heard in the Parliament. This is why we need LDF MPs there. The UDF MPs have failed to discharge their duties. They either refrained from raising their voices or did so only when it was too late,” said Shailaja whom The Federal met during the corner meetings at Poolakkool and Kakkuni of Kuttiadi assembly segment.

The local CPI(M) MLA of Kuttiady, KP Kunhahammed Kutty Master, was with Shailaja and they wasted no time in making phone calls to the MLA’s friends and acquaintances even during the lunch break. “The MLA has a vast circle of friends here and what I'm doing is making it mine now,” Shailaja told The Federal while having lunch at a local comrade’s house.

As The Federal spoke to both the candidates, it emerged that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was at the forefront of the campaign. All the local orators of both LDF and UDF were very vocal against it in the corner meetings and campaigns where they delivered speeches.

However, by the evening, after the incident of a crude bomb blast in which a man, allegedly a CPI(M) sympathiser, died while making it, the momentum of the campaign slightly shifted in favour of the UDF.

Political violence

Shafi and his campaign managers, particularly the RMP leadership, promptly organised a peace march in the constituency, blaming the CPI(M) for “attempting to disrupt peace through activities such as bomb making”. Even before the incident, Shafi had been addressing the issue of political violence spearheaded by the CPI(M) in the area, drawing attention to the murder of Chandrasekharan, for which several CPI(M) activists had their sentences upheld by the Kerala High Court a couple of weeks earlier.

“The incident in Panoor has vindicated our allegations that the CPI(M) is resorting to violence out of fear of another defeat in Vadakara. They must explain why their cadres were manufacturing those bombs and who their intended targets were,” said Shafi.

The LDF, on the other hand, has completely distanced itself from the perpetrators of the blast. They stated that while some of them may have been sympathisers in the past, the party had severed ties with them due to their involvement in criminal activities.

“I’m not acquainted with any member of that group. Numerous individuals have taken photographs with me as a minister and political leader, but our party has no involvement in the crude bomb blast, which tragically resulted in the loss of a life,” said Shailaja.

Incidentally, the bomb blast occurred on the same day the Congress released its manifesto, notably without mentioning the CAA or NRC. This incident in effect, spared them from having to defend their stance on these contentious issues, at least in the Vadakara constituency.

Minority issues

However, the CPI(M) and the LDF are making every effort to raise the issue in various ways, aiming to steer the discussion back to minority issues where they believe they hold an advantage.

"With the arrival of the teacher (KK Shailaja), the scenario has completely changed. We are extremely confident that we could regain the seat this time. She knows how to connect with the common people, and the entire state admires her for her tenure as the health minister,” said Prakashan, a CPI(M) worker in Kakkuni.

The cadre strength and systematic campaigning of the CPI(M) have been evenly matched in Vadakara, with RMP and IUML workers joining forces as a unified front to confront their formidable opponent. “It's not an easy task to win from here, even for a renowned leader like Shailaja,” says Siraj, an RMP activist. She will have to go back to Mattannur and continue as the MLA. Shafi is such a strong candidate who has the total support of the youth.

Ugly turn

As the campaign intensifies, it sometimes descends into an ugly path. There have been numerous complaints about cyberbullying and verbal abuse against Shailaja, to the extent that she has filed multiple complaints against UDF workers for cyberattack.

The BJP has fielded their youth leader CR Praful Krishna, the state president of the Yuva Morcha. In 2019, when there was a significant consolidation of minority votes in favour of the UDF, coupled with resentment against the LDF government after the Sabarimala fiasco, K Muraleedharan of Congress defeated CPI(M) leader P Jayarajan by a margin of 84,663 votes. The BJP candidate had polled 80,128 votes, which was merely 7.58% of the total votes.

With Shailaja and Shafi engaged in an intense political battle in a seat where politics takes precedence over everything else, Vadakara has emerged as one of the most keenly watched constituencies in the state.