Skirting key issues such as unemployment, demonetisation, inflation, and the performance of the Central and State governments, communal and emotive issues figured prominently in the Lok Sabha election campaign that concluded on Sunday.
Inflation was deftly pushed to the back-burner, providing ample room for the Bharatiya Janata Party (and the United Democratic Front to highlight the sentiments of the faithful in connection with the Sabarimala controversy. This put the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the defensive initially, but it pegged its campaign on the communal threat looming over the nation, livelihood issues, and the need for catalysing development in the State.
Communal overtones of the campaign were quite evident with the BJP making a desperate bid to consolidate Hindu votes, setting ground for a strong minority polarisation which would have the potential to decide the poll outcome. Successive attempts to create dissensions in the name of caste and religion are feared to have its reverberations after the election too.
Minority votes
The UDF and the LDF are apprehensive of a swing in minority votes since they are quite decisive for them. BJP president Amit Shah’s comparison of Wayanad with Pakistan and State president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai’s observations with a strong communal overtone have made the minority communities more cautious. The LDF exudes confidence of winning the minority votes by projecting itself as a bulwark against the Sangh Parivar.
Charges of vote-trading and cross-voting dominated the campaign. The LDF and the UDF accused each other of striking a deal with the BJP, primarily in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Vadakara, Kannur, and Kozhikode.
The campaign also witnessed Congress candidates in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Vadakara reportedly complaining of slackness in their campaigning and the Congress high command sending observers to oversee the electioneering. This lent heft to the LDF allegation of the Congress striking an electoral deal with the BJP for vote sharing in select segments.
The Rahul impact
The UDF expectation that the entry of Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad would trigger a wave in the State seems unfounded. Once Wayanad came into sharp focus and State leaders were pre-occupied with strategies for ensuring a comfortable win there, other segments were allegedly deprived of attention.
Allegations of the BJP fielding relatively lesser known candidates in certain segments, mainly Kollam, to help the UDF, came as a damper for them. The recurring visits of national leaders of all parties to the State is proof of the significance of the election.