Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan have given conflicting interpretations of the Lok Sabha elections’ outcome.
Mr. Vijayan said Bharatiya Janata Party failed to secure a simple majority in Parliament because of its divisive agenda — fuelled by corporate money with the support of the right-wing media — and imprisonment of political rivals. The National Democratic Alliance was unable to divide the people on religious, caste, or regional lines, he said.
Mr. Vijayan admitted that the results had fallen far short of the LDF’s expectations. He said the LDF had suffered a similar setback in the 2019 polls, but had stormed back to power in the 2021 Assembly polls for a second consecutive time.
The Chief Minister expressed deep concern over the BJP’s victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, a result that defied Kerala’s secular culture. He said the LDF would take the BJP win as a serious wake-up call and make necessary adjustments. He emphasised the urgent need for secular democratic forces to prevent the BJP from gaining political ground in Kerala.
Mr. Satheesan accused Mr. Vijayan of paving the way for the BJP’s victory in Thrissur. He alleged a trade-off between the CPI(M) and the BJP in Thrissur. He said the CPI(M) had voted tactically to advantage the BJP in the constituency. It sacrificed the CPI candidate at the altar of political expediency. The BJP reciprocated by ordering the ED to go slow on cooperative bank scam cases slapped on Thrissur’s CPI(M) leadership.
Mr. Satheesan also said the poll results were a referendum on the State government. The LDF’s poor fiscal management, nepotism and corruption had prompted voters to shift to the UDF. He said the Opposition exposed Mr Vijayan’s “misrule”. He said the people had paid back for the insults Mr Vijayan and his cohorts heaped on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
