Kerala goes to the polls from Saturday to elect a new assembly and the widespread feeling is that the Left is all set to bounce back after five years in the opposition.The Congress, which heads the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF), of course does not think so. But it increasingly looks like it is only the Congress that thinks it can retain power in the staggered elections ending May 3.
At least three pre-poll surveys have predicted a sweep for the Left Democratic Front (LDF), saying it could win close to 100 seats in the 140-member assembly.
That was the number the UDF won in 2001.
The first phase of polling Saturday will involve 59 constituencies in the six southern districts: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Idukki.
A total of 409 candidates are in the fray. An estimated 8.4 million voters, including 4.3 million women, are eligible to exercise their franchise. Kerala''s total electorate is 21.48 million.
Election Commission officials said the voting would take place in 8,292 polling booths, using 9,121 electronic voting machines.
"Is there any doubt about our victory?" asked Veliyam Bhargavan, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), a member of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) that is led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
"The electorate will give a fitting reply to the misdeeds of the last five years'' rule of the UDF," he added.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy still thinks he can make it - somehow.
He and his colleagues are harping on the theme that Kerala''s economic progress would come to a halt if the CPI-M takes power, since the Marxists have no love for economic reforms other states are embracing.
"We want the people to discuss and debate... We want them to understand the real character of the CPI-M," he said.
Of the 59 seats, the Congress-led UDF won 45 in 2001.
The first phase Saturday is crucial because over the years it has been noticed that whoever wins the most seats in the southern districts, especially in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, emerges the winner.
The Congress feels that the whirlwind tours of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi would help the party to recover lost ground. But it is not an optimism widely shared.
The third factor in the Kerala elections is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Although its vote share has been falling in every election and now stands around five percent, it is hoping to bag at least one seat.
For the first time, digital cameras would come up in the polling booths in all three phases.
"Apart from these cameras, no video shooting or photography will be allowed inside the polling booths," said Nalini Netto, Kerala''s chief electoral officer.
(IANS)
