The silence of religious and community organisations when the Left Democratic Front ministry assumed power on May 25 last year was in sharp contrast with the cacophony they staged when the Oommen Chandy ministry was sworn in five years ago. And that was a reflection of the welcome shift in Kerala’s politics, too.
It was not just the wafer thin majority that gave Mr Chandy’s government a precarious existence. The controversies related to representation of various communities in it added to its discomfort.
The UDF’s weak defence of the Muslim League’s demand for a fifth minister worsened it. The churches, which lay oblique claims for their representation in seats of power and community organisations such as Nair Service Society and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam which make no bones about their claims to key positions, were hyperactive during Mr Chandy’s tenure, giving him little reprieve.
The five-year UDF rule, often perceived to be held hostage to sectarian and communal interests, had a damaging impact on Kerala society where even minor incidents were given communal tinge and discussed hotly. That was a slide Kerala had not witnessed in its history.
It came to such a pass that community leaders went public alleging communal bias when the government announced a solatium to the wife of an autorikshaw driver who went down in a manhole in his attempt to save two migrant labourers.
The emergence of the BJP as major player in the state’s political matrix did not help the situation either.
The formation of the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, sponsored by the SNDP Yogam, and its entry into the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance were only natural, given the circumstances.
The electorate had a huge responsibility on its shoulders when it went to polls on May 16 last year. The choice was clear, though difficult: to allow the slide to continue, or to pick a formation that has the wherewithal to stem it. And the LDF which came to power winning 91 of the 140 seats in the Assembly seems to have got the message right.
The communal cacophony specialists whom electorate silenced have chosen to remain silent; and the government has given them no reason in the last one year to come back to the stage.
It is to be seen if the government will be able to stand its ground or succumb.
