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Dissidents
galore: UDF yet to get into campaign mode
Tainted LDF candidates may find going tough
T.N. Narendran
Kochi, May
2: Even as the UDF is devising ways to get over the rebel menace
and put up at least a semblance of unity in the final phase of electioneering,
the LDF candidates in the southern districts have surged ahead of
their rivals in all departments of electioneering ranging from road
shows to door-to-door campaigns.
The focus of UDF campaign is on the lacklustre performance of the
LDF government and also its abkari policy which, according to the
UDF, was responsible for the recurring hooch tragedies in which
over 40 persons lost their lives during the last few months.
The organisations affiliated to the CPI(M) — a few NGOs and
trade unions — are playing a significant role in organising
these meetings. ‘‘I address at least six to eight such
gatherings every day,’’ says Speaker M. Vijayakumar who
is contesting Thiruvananthapuram North constituency.
One perceptible advantage for the LDF in Kollam district is its
hold among the workers in traditional industrial sectors like coir
and cashew. According to rough estimates, almost 80 per cent of
the cashew workers are attached either to CITU or AITUC. The LDF
candidates in Kollam, Kundara, Eravipuram, Chathannur, Kunnathur,
Neduvathur and Karunagapally have so far addressed several rounds
of meetings organised in cashew factories.
The mechanisation of coir sector and the formation of coir cooperative
societies have considerably improved the condition of coir workers.
Attingal, Chathannur, Kundara and Kazhakootam are the constituencies
where the coir workers have a decisive influence.
The LDF campaign managers are also trying to woo the workers in
the fisheries sector claiming that the government’s policies
improved the financial condition of traditional fish workers as
well as mechanised boat owners.
The LDF Government, which brought down the duration of monsoon trawling
ban, had adopted a policy relatively acceptable to both mechanised
boat owners and the traditional fish workers. In the 1996 Assembly
elections, the LDF had effectively used the depletion of fish wealth
and the resultant plight of fish workers due to the Narasimha Rao
Government’s policy of giving license for deep sea trawling,
especially in the coastal areas of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram
districts.
One positive development from the point of view of the UDF is the
withdrawal of majority of rebels from the fray following the last-minute
patch-up between the ‘I’ and the ‘A’ factions
in the Congress.
A number of “tainted” LDF candidates are in the fray.
R. Balakrishna Pillai, who was convicted in Graphite and Edamalayar
corruption cases, had kicked off his campaign in style even before
his nomination was accepted amid high drama over its legal validity.
The UDF has also launched an effective campaign against three LDF
candidates in Thiruvananthapuram district — Neelalohithadasan
Nadar, who is facing charges of sexual harassment of a senior IAS
official; Antony Raju, who has been accused of taking bribes from
private managements for sanctioning Plus-Two courses; and Kadakampally
Surendran, whose name had figured in the controversy involving tainted
abkari contractor Manichen’s diary.
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