Thiruvananthapuram: The Opposition Left Democratic Front was messing up the debate on the liquor policy till CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury stepped in, asserting that the LDF, once in power, would not reopen bars closed by the Chandy Government.
But the dichotomy in the CPM approach to liquor policy persists. Its stated policy is temperance, not prohibition. Yet it is overwhelmed by compulsions of electoral politics and has decided to follow in the footsteps of the UDF. It feels it will not be able to reverse the bar closure just as it did not lift the arrack ban imposed by Chief Minister A. K. Antony on the eve of elections in 1996.
In Round One of the current liquor debate, the UDF has scored brownie points. If Mr Yechury had remained ambiguous like the rest of his comrades in Kerala, quibbling over the policy, Mr Chandy would have pushed the debate further, prolonging the embarrassment to the LDF.
It’s common knowledge that the closure of 700-odd IMFL bars and the decision to shut down 10 percent of the State-run Bevco outlets yearly are an offshoot of the game of one-upmanship between Mr Chandy and KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran than an earnest policy initiative.
But the UDF policy has gained currency. Bihar has imposed prohibition, while in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa says she would phase out liquor if voted back.
Back home, whatever be the wisdom of Mr Yechury’s realpolitik, the LDF’s liquor policy has been commended for being more logical than phased prohibition of the UDF. Prohibition has been a populist stratagem for politicians seeking instant electoral returns.
What if the LDF had stuck to its policy of temperance and campaigned for it. It is perhaps scared of a supposed voter backlash and not ready to take electoral risks.
Kerala has rewarded fronts for their ability to swim against the current. The LDF fought the 1987 Assembly elections without the support of any major community-based parties like the Muslim League and Kerala Congress (M) and yet won, debunking the belief that no front wins elections except in the company of either the League or Kerala Congress. The architect of the political line was Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan.
Voters increasingly find less difference in terms of policies and programmes between the rival coalitions. The arrack ban, the opening up of the higher education sector and, of late, big ticket projects such as Vizhinjam international container terminal have been initiated by the UDF; the LDF, after being initially reactive, followed on. It was as if the LDF had suspended its own rationale.
Rivalries between fronts have denied the State a quicker consensus on crucial issues. But the LDF has been seen to capitulate even when equipped with a better alternative as with the liquor policy. It is if LDF wants to win this bout at any cost.
