Keralite expats caught in by-poll campaign frenzy

As the South Indian state of Kerala gears up for the state legislative assembly by-election for the Neyyattinkara constituency on June 2, expatriate groups representing the poll candidates and political parties are running a campaign in the Gulf region among potential expatriate voters and their family members back home.

The most politically active state in India, currently ruled by a coalition of political parties under the United Democratic Front (UDF) with a wafer thin majority, is set for a by-poll following floor crossing by a member of the legislative assembly. The by-election campaign has extended to expatriate voters and their families back home.

Group meetings and conventions, mass SMS campaigns, facebook and social network campaigns and even sending voters and volunteers home with free air tickets are some methods employed by political groups to woo voters. The UDF coalition is putting on a brave face with a poll candidate who resigned from the Communist Party to join the opposite camp. Supporters of the opposition LDF are baffled by a high-profile political assassination of a rebel politician that has rocked the state.

Says P K Anwar, president of Dubai KMCC (Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre), the overseas wing of Indian Union Muslim League, a leading partner in the UDF government: “During the last general election, we chartered a Ras Al Khaimah Airline flight to take 120 voters for casting votes and for election campaigning. During the Piravam by-election a month ago, we campaigned vigorously among 3,000-odd members from around Kochi. For the Neyyattinkara by-election, we are running a focused campaign among members from that constituency and Thiruvananthapuram. We have about 1,000 members from the region and we regularly send SMS messages advising members and their families back home to vote for the UDF candidate.”

“We are sending SMS messages and telephoning to members from Thiruvananthapuram region in which the constituency is located. The KMCC state committee has started an SMS campaign informing our members and well-wishers about the achievements of the UDF government and about the latest political developments in the state. About 1,000 members from the constituency received our SMS messages and they will forward the same to their friends and relatives here and back home,” Anwar said.

He said KMCC members have been advised to telephone their family members back home on June 2 morning and urge them to vote for the UDF candidate. KMCC has about 53,000 expatriate members and several thousand supporters here.

Narayanan Veliyancode, an LDF supporter and former general secretary of Dubai Art Lovers Association (Dala), says their campaign has been going on quietly, but the general mood is one of indifference because the by election itself has been caused by an unethical politician changing his party just a year after contesting and winning the election on the opposition party’s ticket.

“During every election, including the previous Piravam by election and the forthcoming Neyyattinkara poll, campaigns have been conducted through community associations, SMS, phone calls, facebook and other social networking sites. The UDF is desperate because the survival of the government is at stake amid spiralling inflation including the latest hike in petrol prices. For an ordinary expatriate, the cost of hiring a taxi from the airport to his house has almost doubled, thanks to continuous hiking of petrol and diesel prices by the central government.”

He used to pay 1,200 rupees to hire a taxi from Kochi airport to his Veliyancode village, but now the taxi fare has gone up to Rs 2000 and may go up further after the latest price increase. “We are also concerned about the abrupt ending of several expatriate welfare measures introduced by the previous government. Vegetable prices have gone up by 40 per cent and the state government is not doing anything to control prices,” he said, adding that the LDF has been silently campaigning among the members and supporters of LDF candidates. He said some Indian businessmen are funding chartering planes and offering free air tickets to canvass votes. “We are confident that the LDF candidate will win, because he had ditched his voters by changing his party within one year. He has no credibility to ask for votes and our campaign has focused on this point,” he said.

The Indian media in the UAE is also going gaga about the Neyyattinkara by-election. Says Biju Abel Jacob, News Editor, Gold FM radio station 101.3: “All the Malayalam radio stations are running special programmes. We have ‘Neyyattankara Focus’ daily every hour until June 2. On vote counting day, Gold FM  station will be giving live updates from the counting station. “A flight was chartered because many NRIs could vote as per the new rules. Many NRIs have never voted in their life but following the government’s decision to include their names in the voters’ list, some members are going on special flights to vote .”

Punnakkan Mohammed Ali, UAE general secretary of Overseas Indian Congress, said UDF supporters have been aggressively conducting special election conventions. “On May 31 Thursday, we have called a convention of members from Thiruvananthapuram. A convention was already held for Moovattupuzha voters. Some of our volunteers and voters are going to Neyyattinkara to canvas for votes from expatriate families. LDF is lagging behind in campaign while UDF is very active. Voters are flown home on special flights only for state-wide elections. He said for the Piravam byelection, there was a clear list of expatriate voters and their families. Such a campaign is not taking place this time.”

Rajeev Pillai, president of Al Khail Gate Malayali Association, says: “There is no value-based politics in this by election and I cannot support any political party. One MLA quit his political party and is contesting on a ticket of a different party. While one group sheds crocodile tears about political assassination, the other group talks about other irrelevant issues. Nobody is discussing economic development,” said Rajeev.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.