All was well with LDF Govt.: Nayanar

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 31. Although most analysts, including a sizeable section within the CPI(M), believe that the LDF's defeat in the Assembly poll has a lot to do with the omissions and commissions of the LDF Government, the former Chief Minister, Mr. E. K. Nayanar, would have none of it.

Mr. Nayanar strongly feels that the LDF Government set a record by ensuring the State's progress and in finding solutions to problems including maintenance of law and order and communal reservation. And, like every ruler who loses out in stock-taking by the masses, he claims that the fault lay in the inability of the LDF to convince the masses about these achievements.

The reasons for the LDF's defeat, as seen by Mr. Nayanar, are contained in his weekly column, ``Munnottu'', in the party organ Deshabhimani today. Written after the two-day CPI(M) State committee meeting held here on May 27 and 28 exclusively for a review of the election results, the article intends to rebut the arguments put forth by the media and the critics both within and outside the LDF as reasons for the party's defeat.

Mr. Nayanar is particularly harsh on the media and holds it responsible in a big way for the LDF's poll debacle. The media, he alleges, launched a campaign of calumny against the LDF and his Government. Any child, Mr. Nayanar says, knows that the poll outcome will not have been the same if the UDF had taken on the LDF on its own. Knowing this, the UDF befriended communal forces including the BJP and the PDP and rallied worthies of communal, caste and reactionary persuasions behind it. In the CPI(M)'s assessment, this was the primary factor behind the UDF victory.

Rejecting the contention that the CPI(M)-RSS clashes in Thalassery and Panur contributed to the LDF's defeat, Mr. Nayanar points out that the LDF won the Assembly seats in both the places. The same happened in Nadapuram despite the CPI(M) being accused of being anti-minority. However, the campaign against the CPI(M) created false notions about the LDF among a section of the voters in some other constituencies. Regardless of such setbacks, there is no question of the CPI(M) diluting its opposition to Hindu fascism, he asserts.

Mr. Nayanar has used the article to reply to critics of the LDF's ties with the Indian National League (INL). Regardless of what a section of his partymen may think, Mr. Nayanar still has no doubt that the "limited understanding" with the INL helped LDF's victory in north Kerala. He complains that critics of the understanding are blind to the fact that the UDF comprises both the PDP and the Muslim League.

Mr. Nayanar regrets that a section of the masses has fallen for the propaganda that the CPI(M) has become a "huge monopoly institution" by amassing wealth and by setting up institutions such as the `Kairali' channel and the EMS Academy and starting new editions for Deshabhimani. Such criticism only points to the need to strengthen ``people's alternatives on the media front,'' he feels.

Besides its failure to convince the people about the Government's achievements, the LDF's chances were also spoiled by the anti- Marxist campaign following the liquor tragedies in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts, treasury crisis and slump in the prices of farm produce. The real culprit behind the treasury crisis during the final days of the Government and fall in the prices of agricultural commodities was the Central Government and its economic policies. But the people were kept in the dark about it creating a lot of misunderstanding in their minds

Mr. Nayanar has concluded his article predicting the disintegration of the UDF Government as in 1977 and claiming that the LDF will by then gain enough strength to exploit the situation politically. He has used the article to drop subtle hints on the changes that he expects the CPI(M) to effect in its approach towards other parties. "A Marxist-Leninist party cannot take the rigid stand that a particular party is acceptable because it is progressive or another is unacceptable because it is reactionary. Every party will change in tune with developments on the political front. Other parties will also change their stand accordingly'', he says.

In his perception, the message of the Assembly election is that the LDF should gain enough strength to win even if the UDF secures the support of parties such as the BJP and the PDP. The discussions at various levels inside the CPI(M) are aimed at achieving this. ``A review of reasons for the defeat will be followed by exploration of ways to strengthen the LDF. All democratic forces and maximum number of people should be rallied to protect the interests of the working class and defeat its enemies. For this, we will have to wage battles where necessary and go in for compromises where it is appropriate to do so. Marxism-Leninism is meant to do this effectively. The CPI(M) and the LDF will act keeping this in mind,'' Mr. Nayanar signs off.

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Section  : Southern States
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