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Covid-19 management may fetch political dividends in Kerala for CPI(M)
The party is planning a big campaign citing these records to ensure a second term for Vijayan, said party insiders adding he has turned the crisis into an opportunity with his administrative skills.
Keeping an eye on next year’s assembly elections, the CPI (M)-led Kerala government has started marketing its Covid-19 “success story” as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan began an online debate lining up many experts to talk about the issue. The opposition, however, quickly dubbed it as another publicity stunt.
Citing the CM’s rising stock the party has given a call to its workers that there will be a continuation of power in the state changing the four-decade-old system of gifting power to the Opposition after every five years. The party feels the management of the pandemic and the state’s record of lowest mortality, high recovery and least number of cases will fetch it rich political dividends. Its mortality rate is less than one per cent and recovery about 60 per cent.
The party is planning a big campaign citing these records to ensure a second term for Vijayan, said party insiders adding he has turned the crisis into an opportunity with his administrative skills. They say his 6 pm daily press briefing is a big hit but his critics say people view them religiously just to know the daily number of cases and recoveries.
“There will be a continuation of power. The state has never seen such able administration. The opposition Congress is quite worried about our popularity that is why it is raising unnecessary allegations. The whole world is praising Kerala but the opposition is trying to sabotage these records,” said CPI (M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
Titled ‘Kerala Dialogue’ the debate, almost on the lines of Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with party leaders and workers, will discuss ways to ensure sustainable and inclusive development in the time of the pandemic.
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, political activist Noam Chomsky, World Health Organization scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan and others participated in the debate inaugurated by the CM. The debate will continue on the CM’s social media site in the coming days. Experts will discuss fresh challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and how things will shape up after the threat subsides. The government is of the view that the series can throw enough light on the state’s fight against the contagion and discuss post-pandemic challenges.
“The state’s virus management is appreciated all over the world. Like Vietnam and South Korea, it fought a valiant battle to limit the damage. The state always gave importance to social and decentralized development and the results are there to see. We saw how some of the super powers struggled to contain it,” said Amartya Sen. Swaminathan said countries and states which followed the WHO warning and directives were successful in containing the spread.
But the opposition is not amused. “This is another publicity stunt. Public relations agencies have a good market in Kerala these days,” said opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala. “In terms of tests the state is placed at 23rd. The government is celebrating as if it has won the war,” said BJP state president K Sudhakaran.
Kerala reported 150 new Covid-19 cases on Friday. For the last eight days, the state has been reporting more than 100 coronavirus cases a day. Out of 3,876 cases, 1846 are active ones and 2,006 patients have recovered. The first state to report the virus in the country-- a China-returned medical student in January-- Kerala has reported 23 deaths so far.
