Result is not a verdict against Kerala govt: CM

KOCHI: The telling defeat of Kerala's CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the Lok Sabha poll has prompted chief minister V S Achuthanandan to defend his turf, stating that the result was not a verdict condemning the government's performance.

However, an attempt to find a correlation between the key achievements of the state government and the election results bring out interesting insights.

The VS government came to power after the series of farmer suicides in Wayanad tarnished the image of the previous Congress government. The new government directed its efforts to arrest farmer suicides through a series of measures including farm debt waiver.

VS's policies may have had its desired effect, but the LDF has suffered one of its worst defeats in the Wayanad parliamentary constituency. UDF's M I Shanavas, who has the dubious distinction of losing all the elections that he had contested in the past, claimed his maiden victory today in Wayanad with the highest margin of 1.5 lakh votes.

The demolition of unauthorized constructions in Munnar and reclamation of revenue land was an operation that boosted the government's image and Achuthanandan's personal brand equity. However, in Idukki, the constituency in which Munnar falls, UDF's P T Thomas was elected with a majority of 74,000 votes.

Another feather was added on the CM's cap when the IT department which he heads successfully negotiated with SmartCity Dubai to launch an IT park in Kochi. The government even acquired around 230 acres for the SmartCity Kochi project. However, the Ernakulam constituency returned the Congress candidate K V Thomas with a majority of 11,700 votes.

The other major achievement, as touted by the government, is the Vizhinjam port project which falls in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. The project, once implemented, is expected to change the profile of the capital city. Despite this, the LDF failed to retain the seat and conceded it to the former UN under secretary general Sashi Tharoor who won with a margin of nearly one lakh votes.

In the run up to the election, the state budget announced a project to provide rice to the BPL families at a subsidised rate of Rs 2 per kg. However, the shock-defeat that the LDF suffered shows Left government failed to attract any support for their work.