Communist Party of India (Marxist) acting State secretary A. Vijayaraghavan said the Left Democratic Front (LDF)’s governance track record had helped it weather a withering campaign of lies and coast to victory in the local body polls.
The Congress and the Bharathiya Janata Party had attempted to cast the Pinarayi Vijayan government under a shadow of suspicion during the election period.
Central agencies had actively assisted the Opposition parties. The people have delivered a forceful repudiation of their odious Machiavellian machinations.
A majority of Muslims were repelled by the attempts of the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) to mollycoddle the fundamentalist Jamate-e-Islami and its political arm, the Welfare Party of India (WPI).
People also realised that the Congress had relegated itself as the B-team of the BJP and became the ideological echo chamber of the Sangh Parivar in many issues concerning the State.
Evident realignment
The local body polls had signalled an evident realignment of Muslim and Christian votes in favour of the LDF. The Jose. K. Mani faction of the Kerala Congress (M) and Lok Tantrik Janata Dal contributed to the LDF’s victory. The secular base of the LDF held and emerged stronger.
The people recognised that the government had not given upon its social security commitments or development plan even in the face of natural calamities, economic collapse, and the pandemic.
It increased welfare pensions and cleared the backlog of payments. Free ration and food kits cushioned the COVID-19 hit population. Moreover, the government offered free medical care for COVID-19 patients.
Even as the economy cratered, the government did not halt development work or modernisation of the health and education sectors. It borrowed money from the free market to fund the creation of critical infrastructure.
