How Puthuppally bypoll has a message for both Pinarayi, winner Congress
The victorious Chandy Oommen has the opportunity to inherit his late father Oommen Chandy’s legacy should he play his cards well
The son has risen in the Puthuppally assembly bypoll. Congress candidate Chandy Oommen has retained his late father and former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy’s home constituency with a thumping victory by 37,719 votes over the CPI(M)’s Jaick C. Thomas.
Technically, the result doesn’t affect the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, which has a massive majority of 99 in the 140-member legislative assembly. And yet, the bypoll leaves chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his regime with much to ponder over.
Despite the CPI(M) fielding its best available nominee against Chandy Oommen and running the campaign on the issue of ‘lack of development’ of the constituency to tide over any sympathy wave for the Congress, the voters remained unimpressed. Chandy Oommen cornered over 62 per cent of the votes polled, almost double that of Thomas. It shows Kerala, in spite of giving Pinarayi two consecutive terms in power, isn’t totally a Left bastion.
Chandy Oommen dedicated his victory to his father. ”I will follow in his footsteps and work for the people. I’m grateful to the people for their affection and love,” he told INDIA TODAY.
Even though the Congress went into the contest looking to milk the legacy of Oommen Chandy, who represented and nurtured Puthuppally for over five decades and struck a chord with its people across political affiliations, the margin of defeat should worry Pinarayi and his party. One assessment suggests some 12,000 votes from the CPI(M) camp may have shifted to Chandy Oommen despite Pinarayi addressing poll meetings in every panchayat in the constituency.
The bypoll result shows the LDF cannot be assured of en masse support of Christians, who form a significant bloc in Puthuppally, despite the Kerala Congress (Mani), led by Jose K. Mani, being a partner in the ruling coalition. It puts Kottayam, a stronghold of the party, under threat in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The Kerala Congress (Mani) predominantly has a Christian leadership and cadre. The party was a constituent of the Congress-led United Democratic Front and crossed over to the LDF before the 2021 assembly election.
The result perhaps also sends out a message to the LDF not to rake up controversies related to religion. Legislative assembly speaker A.N Shamseer’s remark last month thatthe Union government was promoting myths instead of scientific thought in school curricula had prompted the BJP and affiliates of the Sangh Parivar to dub it as an attack on Hindu religion. Puthuppally has a 42 per cent Hindu population.
While the Congress is a divided house in Kerala, its various factions had put up a united fight in the bypoll. “The Puthuppally verdict is clearly against the LDF government and Pinarayi Vijayan. It is the voters’ message on corruption and anti-people polices of the chief minister—a warning sign,” declared leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, who led the Congress campaign.
Ramesh Chennithala, another Congress veteran, claimed the Puthuppally result was the beginning of the downfall of the Pinarayi government. “The people of Kerala have realised their mistake of electing a corrupt government for a second term. They are now expressing their dissent in every possible manner,” he said.
Chandy Oommen’s rise has a bearing for the Congress in the state. He is now expected to lead his father’s faction, which has remained sidelined in the past few years since the emergence of K.C. Venugopal on the national stage in the party. The Chandy group had been looking for a powerful and popular leader like Oommen Chandy to lead it. With the massive victory in Puthuppally, Chandy Oommen has the opportunity to rightfully inherit his father’s legacy—should he play his cards well.