CM Vijayan's month-long yatra turns a blessing in disguise for Cong

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 25 (IANS) The much-hyped Kerala bus ride from the northern tip of Kerala to the southern end led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his entire cabinet, appears to have benefitted the Congress-led opposition more than what Vijayan had anticipated.

He had thought that the statewide yatra would give a new lease of life to his governance which has hit rock bottom due to various reasons.

The trip has concluded here after 36 days on the road and though Vijayan and the LDF claim it to be a stupendous success, Congress veteran V.M. Sudheeran said it was a miserable failure.

“Sadly, Vijayan exposed himself through his various actions and utterances, and the violence that happened during the time on the roads was not seen before. Vijayan should not be under the mistaken impression that he can move forward by taking people for a ride. 1.6 million representations of various needs are reported to have been given to the government by the people because the problems are numerous and the government is doing nothing,” said Sudheeran.

Things went haywire when the luxury bus reached Vijayan’s home district, Kannur, and the student and youth wing of the Congress party took to the streets to protest. After this, there was hardly a day when clashes between the protesters and the combined might of the police and the CPI(M) did not happen.

By the time the trip reached the southern districts of the state, where the Congress is also a dominant force, the clashes between the rival camps intensified. Numerous cases have been registered against the protesters and quite a few were also roughed up and were hospitalised.

With each day passing Vijayan turned his ire towards the media, alleging that the media has turned negative and it reached a high when a young woman TV journalist was named in a charge sheet for having conspired with protesters to hurl a shoe on the luxury bus when it was passing through Ernakulam district.

Vijayan on the last day of the yatra slammed the media, and said there are conspirators in the media and there is no need to have a relook into the case registered against the woman journalist.

A media critic on condition of anonymity said the biggest takeaway for the Congress party on account of the yatra is they have got a new lease of life.

“The Congress party cadres are known for their lethargy unlike the CPI(M). But when the going got tough for the Congress, the ‘tough’ get going in a huge way and by the time the yatra reached its last leg, the rank and file of the Congress appears to have been rejuvenated and this has cheered the top party leadership as the Lok Sabha polls is round the corner,” said the critic.

Social media was also flooded with trolls portraying Vijayan's trip as one which earned him more brickbats than bouquets. State Congress president K. Sudhakaran, who collapsed following a tear gas attack on the protesters, said that the party will approach the High Court seeking a judicial probe into the attack on party cadres unleashed during the yatra.

Seeing the all round attack unleashed by the police and the CPI(M) cadres on the Congress workers, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan slammed Vijayan for the way the law and order situation has deteriorated.

Incidentally, even though for technical reasons the yatra is over, early next month, Vijayan and his team will again hit the road to cover four Assembly constituencies in Ernakulam, which it had missed earlier, following the unexpected demise of state CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran.