Tussle likely again between Kerala Governor and CM during Assembly session

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 19 (IANS) Kerala never before witnessed scenes which it saw when the head of the state -- Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and head of the government -- Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan clashed in the open by taking on one another in a few weeks.

Both of them took to public space eying to score political brownie points and in the course both of them saw their stock diminish as Kerala has never seen such verbal attack from those holding the highest office in the state.

With the first round of clash now ending on an even keel, all eyes are on now the second round which could be more technical in nature. The feud is likly on the first day of the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly meeting in 2024, which opens with the customary Governor’s address, where Khan will be reading out from a text primarily prepared by the Vijayan government.

It must be recalled that amid the Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Khan while reading out his address to the assembly in 2020 said that he is reading out because the CM had requested him to do so.

Now with feathers ruffled badly and the Lok Sabha polls round the corner, Vijayan and his government is certain to paint a picture that Kerala’s woes is due to an 'insensitive' Centre who is treating the state badly and it remains to be seen how Khan will respond to it.

A media critic on condition of anonymity said now with daggers drawn between the two, it will now be a mind game.

“Whosoever plays their cards sensibly will be the eventual winner and if anyone tries to play to the gallery, it might backfire. All what one saw until now is open attack on one another with each trying to put the other down. Now that phase is over as any more washing dirty linen in public will not augur well for either. So all eyes are on how the Governor’s address will pan out,” said the critic.

But watching everything from the gallery is the Congress-led opposition which is waiting to strike when the iron is hot, as veteran opposition legislator and top Indian Union Muslim League leader P.K. Kunhalikutty said time will reveal, if the battle that’s been seen between the two high profile personalities is a stage-managed one ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.