Election campaigns in Kerala can be best described in a single word – monotony. Faces may change, but the campaigns wherein the candidates travel around the constituency in a scheduled manner turn monotonous in a matter of a few hours with waiting party workers garlanding their leader who in turn delivers a short ditto speech everywhere.
Having said that one can't deny the fact that there are occasions when the very act of electioneering turns innovative with the candidate and his followers making the event an occasion to spread a strong message to the world around. To witness one such novel initiative, you have to trail P Rajeev, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate in Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency.
Rajeev, a former Rajya Sabha MP, and currently the ruling CPM's Ernakulam district secretary, criss-crosses the constituency right from morning to late evening, raising a perfect blend of local and national issues. What makes his campaign, which starts at 7:30am and winds up at 8:30pm, different from the electioneering by others, including those in his own party, is the way his supporters receive him across the constituency. Beyond the mere garlands and shawls, they gift him something more – vegetables, milk and sometimes even fish. As his campaign moves on from one point to another, a vehicle following him gets stuffed with tapioca, beans, spinach, jackfruits, mangoes and what not. That's the Rajeev style of campaigning which his party believes is an acknowledgement of his attempt to implement, successfully, an initiative to promote organic farming in the district.
On Tuesday (April 9), when Onmanorama trailed his campaign, Rajeev began his roadshow from Kunnukara, a village near Pulinchode metro station in Aluva. Rajeev was accompanied by a few local party leaders in his convoy, but often he preferred to be alone in the decorated campaign jeep, adorned with some wall plants on both sides. The flow of vegetables, the token of love for Rajeev, started from the first point itself with people, mostly those belonging to the working class, thronging the junction with whatever little they could bring. As expected from any rally of the Communist party, the atmosphere was filled with charged sloganeering as party workers greeted Rajeev and wished him success. Throughout this exercise, Rajeev, bearded and clad in a blue shirt and white dhoti, shook hands with the crowd and hugged a few of his comrades – always with a smile. The campaign, which was supposed to cover at least 25 main points, moved on to the next station with Rajeev on the open jeep and his supporters on bikes and cars.
Thanks to the soaring temperature, Rajeev shifts to a white Innova when the distance between two reception points is a bit far. However, whenever he is on the open jeep he does not miss out anyone waiting along the road to have a glimpse of him. He waves and smiles at all of them in a reassuring fashion. At times, he tries to sit on a tall stool fixed on the vehicle, but soon gets up as he finds someone waving at him along the road.
Untiring announcer
With a well-oiled poll machinery which has its roots in the committed cadre system, the CPM makes its campaigns an enviable affair for the rival parties. Everyone who is involved in it is an epitome of enthusiasm. When it comes to the enthusiasm shown by the announcer who accompanies Rajeev, one falls short of adjectives. The man, a trusted comrade of the party, in fact gives a live commentary of the campaign show. Every time somebody gifts Rajeev a token of their appreciation, his enthusiasm doubles. “Look there's a bunch of beans... that uncle has brought some banana... here's an old lady with a bunch of mangoes...” he keeps announcing in a high pitch, yet untired.
'We will win'
Amid his euphoric announcement and charged sloganeering by young comrades, Rajeev tries to establish a personal contact with as many people as possible. When it's time to express gratitude to the reception, Rajeev picks up a mike and delivers a short speech. He starts with the necessity to throw out the current government at the Centre and the need to form a secular one. “But that should not be a government with secularism only in its name,” Rajeev says in an apparent jibe at his rival Congress. He says the Left should win maximum seats to ensure that a true secular government comes at the Centre. Rajeev gives a personal touch to the next part of his speech which is supposed to touch his fellow partymen deeply. “The other day when I went for an interaction with the employees at Infopark, a young man held my hand tightly and said, comrade, this time we will win. It's not me, but we are going to win,” he says with a tiny pause. Then he goes on to narrate similar incidents. The characters become a nonagenarian woman and a little girl or a church priest, but they all told him that 'we'll win'.” He also says that many people from rival parties or even hitherto apolitical people had joined him in his rallies. Finally, he seeks a vote for the symbol of trust – hammer, sickle and star. The speech more or less remains the same at every point, but Rajeev doesn't sound repeating what he has mugged up. Notably, he never goes overenthusiastic, never makes a personal reference about his opponents.
At one point, he was heard mentioning the opinion polls that predicted his defeat in the constituency. “It was all done by interviewing mere 250 people from two assembly constituencies in the Lok Sabha segment,” he says.
Rajeev never missed a chance to show his affection for children and elderly people. At one point, he walked up to a differently-abled boy, who was waiting for him on a wheelchair, and hugged him. Later, a photographer in his team who captured the moment was heard telling his friend that Rajeev 'sakhavu' (comrade) doesn't like to publicise such moments.
Once inside the Innova, Rajeev shares his reflections about the reception he got in the previous points. “It never used to be so enthusiastic in that area in the past,” he tells his companion mentioning a particular area. In between the tight schedule, he also found some time to share with Onmanorama his views on the crucial polls. He says despite the adverse results predicted by some big media houses, the Left party is sure to win Ernakulam constituency this time. Asked about being gifted a lot of vegetables, he said the party had never planned it that way. “The people started gifting me vegetables or fish or milk on their own. It's an acknowledgement of the organic farming initiatives that we carried out in the district. When we initiated organic farming here many wondered how could it be possible in a place like Ernakulam, but time has proved otherwise,” he says confidently.
Rajeev had his breakfast around 11am at the house of a retired police officer who is a good friend of him. He took a break for the campaign at Mooleppeedika where he went for lunch and to have some rest. The campaign resumed around 3:30pm at Eramam.
Auction time
By the time Rajeev goes for lunch, his partymen find a place to auction the vegetables and other articles he got during the campaign. It's some fun time. One of the party leaders turns the auctioneer while a young man takes note of the items sold and the prices received. Local people, including grocers, were seen actively taking part in the auction.
Abrupt end
The day's campaign was supposed to reach its climax at South Kalamassery with a bike rally starting from HMT junction around 8:30pm. But Rajeev had to stop his campaigning abruptly as the news of Kerala Congress (M) chief K M Mani's demise reached the team by around 5pm. The remaining schedule got cancelled at Eloor as Rajeev left for Lakeshore Hospital where Mani's body was kept.