Kerala Assembly polls 2026: Anti-incumbency against LDF government most decisive factor in polls, says Karassery

What will be the most important issue that could determine the choice of voters in this Assembly elections?

I think anti-incumbency sentiments against the State government will play a crucial role in the electoral outcome this time. Because, on many fronts, people have a feeling that law and order is not under control. For example, take the Sabarimala gold theft case. The stolen goods have not been recovered as yet. The accused, including senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader A. Padmakumar, are out on statutory bail as the chargesheets were not filed on time. All of them are influential people with strong political connections. Take the suicide of the former Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu. Why is the government afraid of a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into it? There are similar instances related to the Departments of Education and Health as well.

But the LDF is seeking another term to continue its development works…

We cannot deny the fact that the Public Works department has done a good job over the years. New roads and bridges have come at many places. The argument that the incumbent government should continue in power to take forward development works is hollow. At least some of the big projects that were completed during the tenure of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan were launched during Oommen Chandy’s time. That means development can continue even if another government comes.

Most political parties have fielded a majority of their incumbent legislators this time. What does this indicate?

Indian society has this problem of gerontocracy, the rule of the old people. A.K. Saseendran, the LDF candidate from Elathur in Kozhikode, is contesting for the ninth time. People become Chief Ministers and Prime Ministers when they are in their 70s and 80s, except in some rare instances such as the one in Assam when Prafulla Kumar Mahanta headed a government there. Only the Indian Union Muslim League has tried to accommodate more youngsters in this election.

Unlike the other elections, a high number of Left leaders have shifted their loyalties elsewhere now. Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan claims the United Democratic Front is the “real Left.” What is your take on this?

Being politically Left is not a label that can be attached to one party for all the time. It should be based on the progressive stand a party takes despite political, social or economic reverses. For example, on the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple, none of the major political parties in Kerala are taking a pro-Left and progressive position now. Almost all of them are opposing it, right? It is a right-wing view to say that protection of customs is “renaissance.” The Communist Party of India is continuing in the LDF because it does not want to get branded as “right wing.” During a crucial period in history, the CPI was with the Congress. Such was their political position. Nobody has any doubt that the BJP is a right-wing party. In comparison with the BJP, the Congress can be called a left-wing party. To keep that party off from power at the Centre and in Kerala, the Congress should be elected to office, not for an infinite period, but for five years.