Chengannur bypolls: Fingers pointed at Congress top guns

Thiruvananthapuram: The UDF camp is upset with the severe drubbing its candidate D. Vijayakumar received. Congress party leading the camp blames it on communal polarisation that LDF created and misuse of power. Senior leader A.K. Antony, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC president M.M. Hassan all came up with such an allegation as the defeat was inevitable. Some say Mr Hassan, Mr Chennithala, former chief minister Oommen Chandy and P. J. Kurien are all responsible for the loss.

The Congress managed to improve their votes slightly.  While P. C. Vishnunath secured 44,897 votes in 2016, Mr Vijayakumar managed to win 46,347, a gain of 1,450 votes. But the party's morale has touched nadir. It was a rude shock for the top brass when Mr Vijayakumar started trailing from the first round, and it continued to the end. 

“The LDF Government need not take pride in this," said Mr Chennithala.  "The chief minister who thinks that the people have accepted all bad activities of the government is in fool’s paradise. Our vote base is intact.” He accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of calling a meeting of caste and religious organisations on the pretext of LDF’s two years in power during the campaigning. At the beginning of the campaigning, a top Congress leader had told DC that it was the joint responsibility of these leaders to ensure the victory. 

Prof Kurien is close to the Marthoma Sabha whose votes split between the UDF and the LDF.  Mr Chennithala was hugely embarrassed when Mr Vijayakumar trailed in his home panchayat, Chennithala.  Mr Hassan said the LDF victory was through misuse of power, pumping in money and communal polarisation.  Mr Chandy’s ancestral home which is in Mannar where Mr Cherian had a lead of 77 votes.

When the Congress leadership thought there would be a Christian and Hindu consolidation in favour of Mr Vijayakumar, who is a Nair and the national vice president of Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangham assisting pilgrims to Sabarimala, it never happened.  The “equidistance” of the NSS also helped Mr Cherian.