Election campaign narrative in State pivots to ED’s moves
On Wednesday, the political narrative appeared to pivot sharply to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) highprofile actions targeting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter, T. Veena , and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] central committee member T.M. Thomas Isaac.
Mr. Vijayan’s initial response came in the evening at an antiCitizenship (Amendment) Act rally in Kollam. He accused the Bharatiya Janata Partyled Central government of subverting Central agencies to stifle dissent and eliminate the Opposition. Mr. Vijayan said the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal might not be the last.
Despite the public attention the ED received for its riveting and politically consequential move, it remains to be seen whether the agency’s action would shape the Lok Sabha elections any way.
Emotive issues
The Left Democratic Front overcame a comparable and possibly more strident recriminatory campaign in the 2021 Assembly elections, sweeping back to power for a historic second consecutive term. Moreover, emotive issues such as the implementation of the CAA, the potential drafting of a Uniform Civil Code, the National Register of Citizens, the criminalisation of triple talaq, and the Centre’s alleged strangulation of State finances to “rupture” its expansive social security net were forcefully jostling for attention at the hustings.
Dr. Isaac somewhat dismissively shrugged off the ED notice in Pathanamthitta, saying it would not deter his election campaign for the Lok Sabha seat.
CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan said the BJP was steeped in electoral bond corruption and cynically used the ED to undermine democracy and to remain in power. Mr. Govindan said Mr. Satheesan often articulated Sangh Parivar’s desire to see Mr. Vijayan arrested.
‘A formality’
Mr. Satheesan countered that the ED’s notice in the payoff scandal was a formality of little legal consequence. The BJP and the CPI(M) were political bedfellows who periodically indulged in shadowboxing to hoodwink the electorate. They saw a common enemy in the Congress. He pointed out that the ED’s investigations against CPI (M) leaders had ended in blind alleys. In a quid pro quo, the LDF government had stalled probes against BJP leaders involved in election bribery and hawala cases.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan said electoral politics had no bearing on ED’s actions.