Kerala CM Oommen Chandy banking on development to rewrite the state’s electoral history

The bipolar polity in Kerala that elects the Congress-led United Democratic Front(UDF) and CPM-led Left Democratic Front(LDF) to power alternately is both a bane and a boon for the state. A bane in the sense that the change of guard at every election upsets the continuity of policy and leaves the public exchequer virtually bankrupt each time one political formation leaves power. A boon because it prevents one dominant party from establishing its hegemony over the state for a long time and acts as a deterrent to acts of omissions and commissions by the party in power.

There is no space for a third political alternative in Kerala, though the BJP is unsuccessfully trying to be one. And the game of political musical chair goes on with glee.

The incumbent UDF Government led by Oommen Chandy is due to complete its tenure within a few months. Going by the state’s tradition, it is now the turn of the LDF to wrest power in the state. Usually, one rival front gets elected on the negative vote generated by the voters’ frustration with the party in power. Thus the anti-incumbency factor is key to the victory or defeat of rival fronts at every election.

This time too there is a perceivable anti-incumbency wave against Oommen Chandy Government. The Government has obviously failed to control prices of essential commodities. Corruption has aggravated in Government offices. There is no visible improvement on the law & order front.

And, to add fuel to the fire, there are scandals like bar bribery scam, solar panel scam etc in which some of the Cabinet colleagues of Oommen Chandy are under a shadow.

But amid the gathering clouds, Oommen Chandy sees a silver lining. Some of the achievements of his Government on the infrastructure development front have left good impression on the people.

He has succeeded in clearing some of the multi-billion mega projects that were pending for approval for years together. Of them, Kochi Metro stands out. This is the first massive public works project to be undertaken in the state at such a fast pace, without inviting any charges of corruption or irregularities. The first phase of the Metro from Aluva to Ernakulam, covering a distance of 18 km, is scheduled to be commissioned in June next year as scheduled within a time-frame of three years.

Another mega project cleared by his Government is the Vizhinjam port. Chandy rose above petty political considerations to strike a deal with Gautam Adani, known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the construction of the Vizhinjam port.

The ambitious Smart City project in Kochi and the Pase II expansion of Infopark in Kochi are scheduled for commissioning later this year. The work on the Kannur International Airport, the third international airport to come up in Kerala, too was initiated by Chandy and the commercial flight operations from the airport are expected to commence in mid-2016. The work on the second International Terminal at Kochi International Airport too is making fast progress.

In fact, Chandy can boast of having kickstarted infrastructure development in all the three regions of Kerala–Vizinjam and four-lane Thiruvananthapuram bypass in South Kerala, Kochi Metro, Smart City and Infopark Phase II expansion in Central Kerala, and Kannur airport in North Kerala.

Chandy is also seriously pursuing the Light Metro projects in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode and hopes to commence work on the projects before his tenure is out. Chandy could also initiate construction of a slew of bypasses and flyovers including the one at Edappally, Palarivattom and Pachalam in Kochi and substantially improve the condition of roads across the state. The work on extension of Seaport-Airport road in Kochi has just begun. The land acquisition for all these projects, the most cumbersome task in a densely populated state like Kerala, is being done at record speed. Many new state highways including Cherthala-Kottayam are on the drawing board.

Chandy’s achievements are all the more creditworthy as he could manage to get Central approval and funds for the projects irrespective of the fact that a rival party is in power at the Centre and there is not a single BJP MP from Kerala in the Lok Sabha.

An analysis of the electoral outcome in the recent Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections reveal that people vote for development, irrespective of political or caste factors.

If Kerala too falls in line with the national trend at the next Assembly election, Chandy may reverse Kerala’s electoral tradition and have his second innings in power.

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