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National leaders stir up campaign in Kerala

While the candidates are racing to complete their door-to-door campaign, national leaders of big parties are making whirlwind tours of constituencies stirring up the electorate.

With only four days left for the polling, campaigning in all the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala has gained momentum. While the candidates are racing to complete their door-to-door campaign, national leaders of big parties are making whirlwind tours of constituencies stirring up the electorate.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) vice-president Rahul Gandhi gave a big boost to the ruling front campaign by addressing rallies at Attingal, Kasargod, Kattappana in Idukki and Chenganoor in Pathanamthitta on Saturday. It will get a further boost when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses a rally at Cochin on Sunday and Sonia Gandhi at Trichur and Calicut on Monday.

Senior party leader and Defence Minister A.K Antony has been infusing life into the campaign by crisscrossing the state vehemently attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPM) over their divisive and murderous politics. He also sought to keep the hopes of his party men by seeking the CPM support to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party away from power.

Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi spared both and pointed out the irrelevance of the CPM at the national level in his speeches. He sought the vote to the United Democratic Front(UDF) saying a vote to the CPM will be an indirect vote to the BJP. Rahul dwelt at length on what his party intends to do if it is returned to power.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) campaign was enlivened by CPM all-India secretary Prakash Karat by taking on Antony at his election rally at Cochin. He pooh-poohed Antony’s invitation of his party support to form a secular front asking how a party that is not expected to get a three digit number in this election hope to lead a government.

He said Antony was living in a fool’s world. He also sought to demolish the claim that Antony had freed defence deals from corruption. Karat alleged that the Defence Ministry was a den of corrupt elements and Antony was unable to do anything about it.

The CPM and the Congress rely heavily on Kerala to boost their chances in Delhi. If the pre-poll surveys are any indication, Kerala is the only state in south India where the Congress is expected to reach double-digit figures. The CPM is trying to win maximum seats from the state as its position is not comfortable in the other stronghold of West Bengal. The party needs maximum seats not only to play a role in the formation of a government but also to ensure its survival as a national party. Hence both the fronts are stretching their campaign by grabbing all opportunities and wooing all sections by playing all cards.

Both the fronts are apprehensive over the first time voters as they have not been displaying their political leanings. If they vote on the basis of issues they can swing either way. The new voters numbering over 1.9 million are crucial to the final outcome. The number is greater than the winning margins of candidates in 17 out of 20 constituencies.

Both the UDF and the LDF have taken their campaign to the social networking sites and the electronic media to woo the new voters. Though they have been actively involving in the campaign the parties have no clue how they will behave on the polling day on April 10.

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