Corruption: Top agenda of Kerala polls

The issue here is not development, the economic slowdown, or who is responsible for those who went to the Gulf, made big money and are having to return.

It is not even about the unemployment guarantees, the condition of farmers in Wayanad or the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement — considering the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is in power in the state and was shoring up the Congress at the centre, this should have been debated in every nook and cranny of politically savvy Kerala.

But in fact, the issues in the Lok Sabha election in this state are more mundane – or complex. Corruption charges and alleged extremist links of political parties, rather than developmental issues, have been dominating the poll campaign in Kerala. On top of the debate agenda is the SNC Lavalin case, following the Central Bureau of Investigation’s request to prosecute CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan for his involvement in .

CPI(M) leader Ramachandra Pillai has said that the case is politically motivated. This has cut no ice with anybody, including Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, who is the one who ordered the CBI to go ahead with the prosecution.

If corruption is topmost on the agenda of the Kerala elections for the LDF, it is links with communal parties that the Congress-led UDF is raising. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader, known for making a communal pitch, AN Madhani who is alleged to have links with some Kashmir based groups.

What is also weighted against the LDF is also the anger of several allies against the dominant partner, the CPI(M), which has rubbed its associates the wrong way on seat allocation.

The LDF has its own grouses, including the India-Israel arms deal, which it is raising to challenge the fidelity of the Congress to its Muslim vote banks.