Tamil Nadu, Kerala to go to polls today

The cup of corruption of India’s politicians is filled to the brim but is corruption an election issue? Considering the response from across the country to Anna Hazare’s crusade it could be true. The common man’s answer is awaited on the series of coming Assembly polls.

For Tamil Nadu and Kerala which go to polls tomorrow, the battle lines are drawn. While the ruling DMK-Congress alliance is wary of the 2G spectrum scam, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan of the ruling LDF government is banking on the clean image of the government.

UPA’s internal assessment on the Tamil Nadu elections spells doom for the alliance, but in Kerala, the alliance is confident of returning to power, given the state’s proven anti-incumbency record.

Polling for the 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu, 140 seats in Kerala and 30 seats in Puducherry will take place tomorrow.

In Puducherry, the ruling Congress will have to counter the alliance between rebel Congress leader and former chief minister N Rangasamy’s All India NR Congress and AIADMK, along with smaller parties. While the Congress is eyeing the assembly polls as a review of the UPA government’s performance at the Centre, in Tamil Nadu the biggest worry for the party is the formidable alliance of AIADMK and Vijayakanth’s DMDK.

Vijayakanth has a vote bank of around eight per cent in the state and is likely to provide the necessary numbers to back the alliance-led by Jayalalithaa. Tamil Nadu Congress chief K V Thangkabalu, however, says: “Vijayakanth had got votes because of his anti-DMK and anti-AIADMK stand. After joining hands with AIADMK many of his voters will not vote for him.”

Although the Congress party seems confident in Kerala, analysts say unlike previous years, the much anticipated anti-incumbency wave is not sweeping the state. “The winning coalition may simply be the one with a strong political front, irrespective of the merit of the poll promises, tall claims of achievements, verbal attacks of corruption and misconduct against politicians or the allegations of non-performance,” said an analyst.

If the ruling LDF scrapes through, it would be termed the success of Chief Minister Achuthanandan. On the other hand, a UDF win will be due to the strong sentiments of the minority (Muslim, Christian communities) voters to oust the communists, said a Kottayam-based political analyst.

For the Congress, the seat sharing exercise had been a Herculean task in the two states. To add to its woes in Kerala, Rahul Gandhi’s Youth Congress got 30 per cent of the 81 Congress seats, leaving several senior state-level politicians fuming with resentment. In Tamil Nadu, the state unit of the party was opposed to the alliance with the DMK and wanted to go independently. The bitterness between the two alliance partners over seat sharing and the 2G probe may also give an edge to the opposition.

The election results of the two states and the Union Territory will be announced on May 13.