Thiruvananthapuram. Amidst the buzz of Kerala Assembly elections, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has given a statement which has created a stir in the political circles of the state. On one hand, while the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is trying hard to return to power, a veteran leader of its own party has surprised everyone by expressing confidence in Left Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan continuing in the post. During a public program on Sunday, Aiyar not only praised Vijayan’s functioning but also described him as a people’s leader who fulfilled the dreams of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The incident occurred during the Vision 2031: Development and Democracy programme, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself. Speaking from this platform, Mani Shankar Aiyar recalled Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of India. He said that the Father of the Nation had envisioned a country where even the poorest of the poor could realize their effective role in nation building. Iyer argued that it is ironic that the state making the most commendable progress towards this goal is Kerala, which is currently ruled by a party with Marxist–Leninist ideology. He described Kerala as the leading state in the country in terms of Panchayati Raj and said that Kerala has fulfilled the expectations of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi better than any other state.
During his address, Iyer made a personal comment and said that he was confident that Pinarayi Vijayan would remain on the post of Chief Minister. Making a direct request to the Chief Minister, he said that Vijayan should now take over the responsibility left by the Congress and continue working towards making Kerala prosperous. He also advocated further reforms in the Panchayati Raj Act of Kerala and appealed for amendments based on the insights of Thomas Isaac and the five-volume report he chaired. Expressing regret over the absence of his own party colleagues in the programme, he described it as a national occasion.
This stance of Mani Shankar Aiyar has made the Congress high command uncomfortable. As soon as this statement came into limelight, Congress immediately distanced itself from it. The party clearly said that Aiyar has not been actively associated with the organizational decisions of the party for the last few years and this is purely his personal opinion. The Congress claimed that the people of Kerala are fed up with the current governance and will bring the UDF back to power for more accountable governance. Party leaders argue that Iyer’s statement is going to affect the morale of the workers in the election environment, which has nothing to do with the truth. Generally, there is a tradition of change of power in Kerala politics every five years, but this prediction of Iyer has given a big issue to the LDF (Left Democratic Front). Now it will be interesting to see whether Congress is able to compensate for the loss caused by the statements of its senior leader or whether the Vijayan-led Left Front will use this praise as a shield in the electoral battle.