Kerala elections: Will Pinarayi Vijayan get a second term?
Vijayan, who was elected as the 12th chief minister of Kerala after LDF came to power, has had a tumultuous journey in his first term.
New Delhi: Kerala, which goes to polls on Tuesday, has a tendency of changing guard every five years and has voted the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) to power alternately in the past. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, however, aims to break the alternate shift of power and take oath for his second term as the head of the state.
Vijayan, who was elected as the 12th chief minister of Kerala after LDF came to power, has had a tumultuous journey in his first term. He faced opposition within the party and also had to work really hard on gaining popularity among the masses.
In November 2017 when Cyclone Ockhi hit Kerala, the Vijayan government was criticised for mishandling the disaster, which killed dozens of people, devastated fishing villages in Thiruvananthapuram, flooded farmland and damaged houses.
But during the 2018 floods, Vijayan emerged as a great manager. During the crisis, he remained in the state capital to coordinate and oversee the rescue activities and relief measures personally, which increased his popularity among the masses.
During the Sabarimala Temple controversy — which erupted following the state government’s efforts to implement the Supreme Court’s order on lifting a centuries-old ban on entry of women of menstruating age to the temple — Vijayan stood strong on his decision of implementing the apex court’s order despite massive protest by opposition parties in the state.
The Sabrimala controversy has been ferociously raised by the Opposition, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, during the campaign for the assembly elections.
Vijayan has also been at the target of the Opposition for the infamous gold-smuggling case. The gold-smuggling case relates to the seizure of about 30-kilogram gold worth Rs 14.82 crore from diplomatic baggage at Thiruvananthapuram international airport in July 2020, which is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, Customs and the National Investigation Agency.
M Sivasankar, former principal secretary to the chief minister who is currently suspended, was arrested in connection with the case. The case is being probed by various central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate.
Vijayan is contesting polls from the Dharmadam constituency in Kannur district against UDF candidate C Raghunath and veteran BJP leader CK Padmanabhan and it will be interesting to see if he can come to power in the state again and break the trend being witnessed for years in Kerala.
The election for the 140-member Kerala assembly in 14 districts will be held in a single phase on Tuesday, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 2.