Left vs Congress: Minority issues dominate Alappuzha’s electoral war

“When you cast a vote for KC Venugopal in Alappuzha, you are contributing to BJP securing an MP from Rajasthan. If you vote for AM Ariff, we can ensure two anti-BJP MPs in the Parliament,” read a poster in the coastal belt of Alappuzha constituency put up by the LDF.

The poster refers to Venugopal’s candidature in Alappuzha constituency, as he has more than two years of term left in the Rajya Sabha and the Congress does not have the numbers in Rajasthan to send an MP as his replacement.

The moment the Congress announced AICC general secretary KC Venugopal as the Alappuzha candidate, the LDF crafted its narrative, dubbing it as “assistance to the BJP”.

“The BJP is nearing a majority in the Rajya Sabha and are currently only short of four members. For a party intent on reshaping the nation’s character, control of the Upper House has always been a concern. They are eagerly awaiting a majority in the Rajya Sabha to push forward with delimitation, particularly targeting seats in the South. While any political party has the right to decide their candidates, the candidature of Venugopal should be examined in this context,” said John Brittas, the CPI(M) MP who is a Rajya Sabha colleague of Venugopal.

Candidature questioned

“Given his current tenure in the Rajya Sabha representing Rajasthan, his decision to contest the Lok Sabha polls raises concerns about who stands to benefit. If he wins from Alappuzha, the BJP will gain one more seat in the Upper House, which they would undoubtedly welcome. However, the Congress must reflect on its position in the battle against communalism and fascism,” he added.

Of the 20 constituencies in Kerala, Alappuzha will be the one discussing most the comparison between the anti-fascist stance of the Left parties and the Congress.

Sitting MP AM Ariff of the CPI(M), who is the only representative of the party in the outgoing Lok Sabha, is raking up the issue while also highlighting his performance in the Lower House.

'Where was Venugopal?'

“In the past five years, over a 100 pieces of legislation have been passed in Parliament, many of which have been divisive along communal lines or perceived to favour corporate interests. However, I haven't witnessed the Congress leader in Parliament opposing these laws. Not once has he spoken in the evening sessions about these pieces of legislation, having participated in only eight debates while the national average stands at 46,” Ariff told The Federal while on his campaign trail.

On the other hand, Venugopal has upheld the image of a national leader, despite representing Alappuzha as an MP for two terms from 2009 to 2019. His rise as a national figure occurred during these years and he served as a Union minister during the UPA regime.

Last year, he chose not to contest the elections, contending that as the AICC general secretary, he needed to focus on coordinating the party’s efforts at the national level.

Striking a balance

The day The Federal followed him on his campaign trail in Alappuzha, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate dominated the news. Venugopal spent most of his time engaging with the media, discussing the BJP’s high-handedness and its attempts to undermine the democratic process.

“With all these central agencies working overtime to target the Opposition leaders, where is the level playing field which is essential for any democratic practice like elections?” he asked thepeople.

He was trying hard to strike a balance between his role as the AICC general secretary, aligning with comrades like Sitaram Yechuri and D Raja, and his position as the UDF candidate, requiring him to fiercely oppose the LDF on his home turf.

Counter-attack

To counter the attack directed at him by the LDF over the coveted Rajasthan Rajya Sabha seat, Venugopal tactically switched to the alleged business ties between CPI(M) leader and LDF convenor EP Jayarajan and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who is the BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram.

“I couldn't believe hearing Jayarajan say that the fight in Kerala is between the LDF and NDA. What kind of PR work is he doing for the BJP? And the CPI(M) leadership has remained silent on it, indicating they may have a tacit understanding with the BJP,” alleged Venugopal.

“Venugopal’s return to Kerala will do a lot of good to the Congress. He is very good with people and more over the community organisations like the Nair Service Society and others would back him for sure. Besides, with his image in Delhi, the Muslim voters too will be inclined to vote for him,” said Abraham PK, a coir trader in Alappuzha.

CAA, UCC dominate campaign

The confrontation between the LDF and the UDF in the constituency is dominated by issues such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Uniform Civil Code (UCC), and other concerns related to the minority community, with the NIA Amendment Act being the prominent one.

Ariff was the only MP from the state to oppose the Bill and vote against it in Lok Sabha, according to the LDF campaigners.

“The Congress MPs never had the sincerity to oppose the divisive legislations introduced to suppress the minority communities,” alleged Ariff. "One such significant legislation was the NIA Act, which granted the agency extensive powers, including the ability to take over cases from the states.

Despite delivering fiery speeches against the BJP, the Congress MPs supported the bill when it came to voting, citing that NIA was their brain child. During the vote, only six MPs, including me, stood up, terming it as a tool for state-sponsored terrorism. Union Home Minister Amit Shah immediately tagged us supporters of terrorism. Now, the Congress is shamefully campaigning against me, saying that I’m scared of Shah, how pathetic it is,” said Ariff.

LDF vs Congress

“While there are numerous disagreements with Ariff, his firm stance against the BJP-RSS has been commendable. Despite being singled out by Shah as a supporter of terrorism solely because of his name, he has steadfastly held his ground. This resilience is unlikely to go unnoticed by voters in the upcoming election. I did not vote for him last time, but this time the situation is a little different,” said Musheer Ahammed, a philosophy student from the constituency.

CAA is another issue over which the LDF is trying to put the Congress in dock, pointing out the lack of reaction from its top leaders including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

“Regarding the CAA, it’s rather foolish to even ask us about it. It’s on record that we opposed it when it was passed four years ago. Now, the agenda seems clear: it's being used to divert attention from other issues. Congress is clearly against it, and there’s no need to reiterate that we should scrap it, if voted back to power,” said Venugopal.

BJP spices up battle

While the LDF and UDF are fighting it out over the national issues in Alappuzha, the BJP seems to have employed slightly different approach. The party is expecting its senior leader Sobha Surendran to spring a surprise this time.

Being a stronghold of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), an NDA ally, the party expects to cut into the vote base of both the LDF and the UDF focusing on the Ezhava community which traditionally supports the Left parties.

“In the last Lok Sabha election, we managed to increase our vote share more than three-fold and that gives us fair hope this time. We are expecting Sobha Surendran to garner around three lakh votes and that will suffice for us to win. There is strong anti-incumbency sentiment against sitting MP Ariff and we are trying to get those votes in our favour. Venugopal was a total failure during his tenure as the MP of Alappuzha and that would work to our advantage this time,” Sandeep Vachaspati, BJP’s state spokesperson, told The Federal.

History not kind to Left

Although Alappuzha is considered a working class bastion, the electoral history after the Emergency in the 1970s hasn’t been particularly favourable to the communists.

In the 12 Lok Sabha elections after 1977, the Congress has emerged victorious from Alappuzha eight times, compared to the pre-Emergency period, when it managed to win only once. In 2019, when Venugopal opted out of the race, Shanimol Usman, one of the two female candidates fielded by the Congress, was unable to secure victory, despite the success of all the other candidates who rode on a Rahul wave that caught Kerala by surprise.

Apart from the absence of Venugopal and infighting within the Congress, the votes garnered by the BJP candidate also played a crucial role in the CPI(M)'s victory. With two Muslim candidates contesting head-on, the BJP attracted a fair number of votes, which was the result of the communal polarisation that occurred after the Sabarimala fiasco of 2018, almost vertically splitting the anti-incumbency sentiment against the LDF government.

BJP candidate KS Radhakrishnan amassed a record 1,87,729 votes, which accounted for 17.24 percent of the total votes. It should be noted that the NDA candidate in 2014 had only polled 43,051 votes in Alappuzha.

Congress apprehensive

This time, the Congress camp is slightly apprehensive about the votes that Sobha Surendran could bag. If she manages to cut into the anti-incumbency constituency, it could affect the fortunes of Venugopal.

Keeping this in mind, Sobha has been on the offensive right from the beginning, accusing Venugopal of rampant corruption and hinting at a possible inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

However, Ariff is also not in a comfortable position as organisational issues within the CPI(M) are at their peak in the Alappuzha district. Historically, the CPI(M) has suffered losses whenever internal feud raises its head, and Alappuzha remains the only area where such factionalism within the party is still prevalent.

With no candidate having a clear advantage, Alappuzha has already become a constituency to watch out for, especially with a heavyweight like Venugopal in the fray.