Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's 50-minute victory speech on Wednesday offered him a chance to both re-emphasise his front's secular, welfare and development credentials and also get back at the forces he perceives are conspiring to destabilise his government, mainly the opposition and the media.
But here were two themes that stood out like blinking ornamental lights throughout his acceptance speech. One, the LDF is the sole secular formation in Kerala. And two, the people of Kerala have unequivocally dismissed all bad things spoken about his government and party.
Vijayan dismissed the BJP as a mere wannabe in Kerala politics. “Their tall claims have once again been shattered. We know what they said about Thiruvananthapuram and what eventually happened,” the chief minister said.
Turning most predictions on their heads, the LDF acquired a simple majority in the 100-strong Thiruvananthapuram Corporation with the BJP failing to match even its 2015 tally.
But it was withering condescension he had for the Congress. “At least now, please sit and think calmly about what you have done,” Vijayan said. He presented the Congress as a once secular party that, through poor and opportunistic judgment, had blundered to the other side.
“It pursues a soft line with the BJP and then holds hands with extreme Muslim elements (a reference to the Congress alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami's Welfare Party),” Vijayan said. “What have you gained by this,” the chief minister asked, as though he was genuinely worried but still exasperated.
And he then took the victor's moral high ground. “Votes are not the most important thing in politics,” he told the Congress.
He was graceful enough to give some credit to Jose K Mani for the historic win in Pala and Kottayam but made it clear that the win “even in citadels that some thought would never desert them” was the result of a pro-LDF wave that swept Kerala. “Or else why would the LDF win in areas (in Kottayam, Pala and Idukki) where Jose K Mani has not much influence,” he said. Nonetheless, he said the entry of Jose K Mani did infuse new energy into the LDF.
It is by now known that the chief minister's political victories are never complete without a public censure of the media. Wednesday was no different. “If the people of Kerala had believed the slander that was unleashed against us not only would the LDF have got any votes or seats but would have even ceased to exist,” Vijayan said.
“The media, which works for the good of the people, should reconsider and follow the right path. It will be good if they desist from encouraging wrong things,” he added.
The chief minister also gave hints that once the model code of conduct is lifted, the LDF will go into the Assembly poll mode. He said a second 100-day programme is in the offing. "The first one was a major success," he said.
The announcement of a second 100-day package is also a sure sign that the CPM considers its welfare plank the real clincher during this local body polls. The party will clearly look to build on this, to pile up more advantage on what it has now accumulated. “At no point has the LDF ever let go of the people," Vijayan said.
On the evening of his big victory, Vijayan made sure to launch the LDF's Assembly campaign.
