THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The rout in Chengannur has stunned the UDF camp which had hoped for a win based on certain favourable factors. The UDF calculated that the anti-incumbency factor against the LDF, the Kerala Congress (Mani)'s support, Hindu and Christian votes and the clean image of its candidate D. Vijayakumar would ensure his victory by a margin of about 6,000 votes. However, the result has proved how far the leaders were from reality.
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church's Chengannur Metropolitan Thomas Mar Athanasios never bothered to meet former chief minister Oommen Chandy, who belonged to the same church, as well as Mr Vijayakumar during the campaigning. No damage control measures were initiated by Mr Chandy and other Christian leaders though Christians form a sizeable population in Chengannur. Towards the fag end of the campaign, Mr Chandy’s visit to Nedumbassery airport to receive the Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Aphrem II, head of the Jacobite Syrian Church, also created adverse impact on the UDF.
There is only a nominal presence of Jacobite Syrian Christians in Chengannur compared to the rival Malankara Orthodox Syrians. Mr Chandy’s trusted lieutenant Benny Behanan told DC that things had gone wrong in Chengannur. “We lost the traditional as well as the minority votes of the UDF. The CPM cleverly consolidated the Christian and minority votes in favour of Saji Cherian. We have to be realistic in our defeat and learn from mistakes,” he said.
Before the UDF leadership tried to broker a deal with KC (M) chairman K.M. Mani, his party workers were campaigning for Saji Cherian. Within days, they had to work for his rival which did not go down well with them. Ever since former Congress MLA P. C. Vishnunath was defeated by the late K. K. Ramachandran Nair in the 2016 elections, the organisation had become weak there. A top Congress leader told DC that the party functioning in Chengannur had become defunct with seat-sharing between the two prominent groups of the Congress.
