THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If the Piravom by-poll was an opportunity for the UDF to prove its cohesiveness and striking power against the Opposition, the ruling front is pitted against complex odds which have cropped up beyond its control within a short time while it goes to another bypoll at Neyyattinkara.The fifth minister controversy has put the UDF in a piquant situation as it goes to the polls, with the state witnessing a palpable communal divide over the issue. The schism within the Congress and the differences between coalition partners are something which could not be buried easily at the grassroots level even if the top leadership rely on the politics of convenience. The coming in of BJP to the poll scene with a strong candidate is bound to have its impact, by making or marring the prospects of the main contestants representing the the UDF and the LDF.Though traditional communal equations and political undercurrents in the CPM in a unique Assembly segment like Neyyattinkara, especially when its former MLA R Selvaraj is contesting as a candidate of the opposite camp, can emerge favourable to the UDF in the run up to the polls, it is not going to be a smooth ride for the ruling front in any way this time. Community organisations such as NSS and SNDP have pockets of influence and naturally it will have an impact. It may be recalled that if the two organisations were vying with each other to openly support the UDF at Piravom, the fifth minister controversy has made a sea change since the NSS became a party to it and launched a direct attack against the IUML and the UDF. The role of Nadar community rooted VSDP is also something to be watched at the local level.That the CPM and the LDF are yet to strike back with renewed vigour in spite of all the advantages at sight and the fact that a debacle in the bypoll in a sitting seat would erode its political base in a big way is a pointer .“Piravom will be repeated in Neyyattinkara also. What the people had approved is the united stance of the UDF. No doubt, it will be there in Neyyattinkara also,’’ Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said. ‘’It is true that the LDF does not have a political upper hand in the segment, though we have won the last Assembly polls. But the switching over of Selvaraj and contesting the polls as a candidate of the opposite camp has definitely made the people to sit up and think in favour of the LDF. The Rajagopal factor cannot be written off but when the electorate realises that it would help only Selvaraj, things will turn in favour of the Left,’’ former Minister and CPM leader M Vijayakumar said.
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