With the push coming to shove, the gloves seem to be off in the by-election battle for the Puthuppally Assembly constituency.
After a week of mild sparring and nimble footwork around corruption allegations dogging the government, the Congress appeared to have dug in for an accusatory political slugfest that could border on the personal.
Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said, somewhat belatedly, that the “corruption scandal” centred around Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter and businessperson Veena Vijayan’s financial transactions with a Kochi-based mining company was on the table.
The Congress had earlier pussyfooted around the testy subject given its double-edged nature.
Mr. Satheesan said Congress leaders had conceded that they had accepted political donations from the firm at the party’s behest.
“It’s now binding on Mr. Vijayan to explain to Puthuppally voters why the company channelled funds to his daughter without getting any reciprocal service or consultancy,” Mr. Satheesan said.
“The Chief Minister’s Office has institutionalised corruption and nepotism. Its incriminating fingerprint is on the graft-ridden Keltron traffic camera project, K fon and UAE gold smuggling case,” he added.
In stark contrast, the CPI(M) seemed keen to dodge recriminatory and toxic debates targeting the government.
Instead, it attempted to reframe the campaign narrative by questioning the Congress’s commitment to minorities by casting the UDF’s alliance with the BJP in Kidangoor panchayat in Kottayam in a politically embarrassing spotlight.
Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener E.P. Jayarajan said the Congress wept crocodile tears for Christians while it “clandestinely” courted the BJP for votes.
The CPI(M) has also attempted to pry open old factional wounds in the Congress. Its candidate Jaick. C. Thomas challenged the Congress to field K. Muraleedharan, MP, to campaign for Chandy Oommen in Puthuppally. Mr. Muraleedharan and his late father, K. Karunakaran, had acrimoniously left the Congress in 2005 and blamed Oommen Chandy for the split.
The Congress riposted by spotlighting the VS-Pinarayi “factional feud” that swamped the CPI(M) in 2007.
Mr. Thomas has also challenged Mr. Chandy to a “persuasive agenda-setting” town hall debate. Such a face-off has its peril and profits. For one, gaffes could potentially hurt candidates.
The Congress has refused to take the bait. Mr Satheesan said the party would decide the UDF’s campaign agenda, not the CPI(M).
