An all-important by-election will take place on September 5 in Puthuppally, an assembly constituency in the Kottayam district of central Kerala. It has been necessitated by the death of Oommen Chandy, two-time chief minister of Kerala and Congress veteran.
The rubber-and-spices-dominated Puthuppally has a unique distinction. It is India’s only assembly constituency that returned the same candidate — Chandy — without a break for more than half a century. The Puthuppally-born Chandy passed away at the age of 79 on July 18 while serving his 12th successive term as legislator. Chandy was India’s third-longest-serving legislator (53 years) after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam’s M. Karunanidhi (61 years) of Tamil Nadu and the Peasants and Workers Party of India’s Ganpatrao Deshmukh (56 years) of Maharashtra. Although Karunanidhi was elected a record 13 times to the assembly, it was from different constituencies and with a break in 1980 when he didn’t contest. But Chandy shares with K.M. Mani of the Kerala Congress the record of being elected from the same seat 12 times in a row. This is no mean achievement in a state known for its penchant for anti-incumbency. Chandy and Mani won continuously, even in elections where their parties faced landslide defeats.
To retain his father’s impregnable fortress in the by-election, the United Democratic Front has fielded Chandy’s son, Chandy Oommen, the chairman of the Indian Youth Congress’s National Outreach Cell and member of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. While this is junior Chandy’s debut contest, his current opponent, Jaick C. Thomas of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was the Left Democratic Front’s candidate here in the last two elections. Thomas, a former state president of the Students’ Federation of India who also belongs to Puthuppally, has the distinction of having reduced the senior Chandy’s margin to the second lowest (9,044 votes) in history in 2021. Chandy had trounced Thomas by 20,792 votes in 2016.
Even though Puthuppally remained Chandy’s citadel since his first election in 1970, the LDF has been nibbling at its roots for some time now. Today, six of the eight panchayats in Christian-dominated Puthuppally are ruled by the LDF, indicating that Chandy’s record is not so much on account of his political strength as his personal charisma. Hence, in the coming by-poll, the UDF’s hopes depend mainly on the sympathy factor.
Indeed, the phenomenal outpouring of grief witnessed for Chandy after he died was unprecedented. Multitudes thronged to pay respects throughout the route his hearse travelled, from Thiruvananthapuram to Puthuppally, taking 28 hours to cover 150 kilometres. The cortège and the funeral were aired live seamlessly for two days by every news channel, including the CPI(M)-controlled Kairali, without other programmes or even a commercial break. Chandy was cremated at Puthuppally’s St George Orthodox Church where he attended mass every Sunday, traveling from wherever he was. In another singular act, the church authorities allowed Chandy to be laid to rest in an exclusive area marked for departed priests. Chandy’s tomb keeps attracting visitors from various places even a month after he died. Many have nothing to do with politics but are seen praying for Chandy’s ‘intercession’ to fulfil many of their needs. There is even a plea for the church to declare Chandy a saint. Two top priests have responded positively. Yuhanon Mar Policarpos, the metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, to which Chandy belonged, said, “One can be a saint if that is what god wishes.” He reportedly said their church has a history of declaring members of the laity as saints although there was no precedence in Kerala. Cardinal George Alencherry, the major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, said Chandy was a “messenger of mercy” who led a “sacramental life”.
Interestingly, Chandy, a compulsive church-goer, was no favourite of even his Orthodox Church when he was alive. The reason was his non-intervention in its century-old war against the rival Jacobite Church. A section of the Orthodox Church even attempted to defeat Chandy in 2021. Chandy’s popularity owed mainly to his humble and simple ways and him being Kerala’s most accessible leader. He was ready to help everyone in their hardships, irrespective of political or other differences. Known for his wily political strategies and factional manipulations, Chandy never hankered after positions for himself. At a time when most leaders are increasingly distancing themselves from the common people, Chandy’s office and home were always open to the public.
He remained highly popular personally but Chandy’s political record has not been equally impressive. Since the passing of K. Karunakaran and A.K. Antony’s departure from state politics, the Congress has only declined under the leadership of Chandy and R. Chennithala, except for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The LDF under Pinarayi Vijayan came to power in 2016 mainly because of the dismal performance of the previous UDF government led by Chandy. Owning responsibility, Chandy declared not to take up any party position. In the subsequent 2021 assembly elections, the LDF repeated its victory, recording an unprecedented successive innings in power.
Would the memories of his father be enough to ensure victory for junior Chandy? The odds are indeed in his favour. Yet, the LDF and its feisty candidate have sparked a lively debate on Puthuppally’s tardy development, asking why it remains backward despite being Chandy’s pocket borough for long.
Apart from the sympathy factor, the UDF has unleashed a tirade about the multiple scams rocking the LDF government. This had worked for the UDF and helped it win the 2022 by-poll in Thrikkakara where it fielded the wife of the departed legislator. The latest scam to hit the LDF is the explosive case involving Veena Thaikkandiyil, the daughter of Pinarayi Vijayan and the wife of the tourism minister, P.A. Mohammed Riyas. According to a report of the income tax department’s Interim Board for Settlement, Exalogic Solutions, a nine-year-old Bengaluru-based IT company owned by Veena, allegedly received an illegal payment of Rs 1.72 crore from a Kochi-based private firm, Cochin Minerals and Rutiles Pvt Ltd, during 2017-20. The report said the payment received as consultancy fees was made despite no service being provided, apparently because of Veena’s high political connections. The CPI(M) has rubbished it as yet another case of political witch-hunt by a Central agency against Opposition leaders.
This should have been ideal ammunition for the UDF in Puthuppally. But it finds itself hamstrung because the report also mentions many of its top leaders, including Chandy, Chennithala and P.K. Kunhalikutty of the Muslim League, as recipients of payments from the company. They have claimed they were legitimate donations to the party. That no Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s name figures in the list strengthens the suspicion of a political motive. Yet, that may not absolve the LDF and the UDF from explaining why they took money from a firm accused of causing severe ecological damage by mining precious mineral sand along Kerala’s fragile coast.
M.G. Radhakrishnan, a senior journalist based in Thiruvananthapuram, has worked with various print and electronic media organisations
