At one level, the massive mandate given to the CPI(M)-led LDF by the people of Kerala is quite consistent with the general pattern of electoral politics in the state. Kerala has only rarely voted a ruling coalition to power for a second term. But at another level, the performance of the Left is historic: it reflects a genuine desire of many voters to halt the rampant communalisation sweeping across the state and across communities. It’s also a verdict against the corruption and cronyism of the Oommen Chandy government.
Another term to the Congress-led UDF would in all probability have precipitated the growth of communal politics—especially Hindutva. The forces of Hindutva thrive in a UDF-orchestrated environment of confessional rivalry as it provides them with the perfect rationale to whip up issues around an imagined victimhood of the majority. Not that the CPI(M) and its partners are paragons of secular virtues when it comes to pandering to religious wholesalers and communal bargainers. Politics on the ground anywhere ought to be approached in...
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