The victory, pulled off in the face of heavy odds, has come as a big morale booster for the LDF. Even as it is soaking in the euphoria generated by the local body poll success, the LDF has refused to lull itself into a false sense of complacency.

The Front has already slipped into the election mode, determined not to let the grass grow under its feet. Its awesome organizational machinery is slipping steadily into the top gear, signifying its clear intent not to rest on its laurels.

The LDF is aware that the assembly elections will be a different ball game. The issue of corruption and false allegations against the Government, which failed to have an impact in the local body election result, could become a major campaign theme in the assembly polls. Hence the decision to pull out all the stops to ensure a repeat of the remarkable victory in the local body polls.

As part of its efforts to woo the voters, the Government has announced the second phase of its 100-day programme. The highlights of the programme are the decision to increase the monthly welfare pension to Rs 1500 from Rs 1400, extension by four more months of the distribution of free kits, which had become immensely popular and which played a key role in the LDF victory and creation of 50,000 new job opportunities. Last but not the least is the move to build 15,000 more houses under the scheme for the homeless, unfazed by the corruption allegations surrounding the Government’s LIFE Mission project.

Unveiling the second phase of the 100-day programme, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Government envisages the completion of 526 more projects worth Rs 5,700 crore. Besides, work on 646 new projects worth Rs 4,300 crore will also start, declared the CM. It may be mentioned that the Government has completed 570 of the 600 projects in the first phase of the programme.

As far as the industrialisation drive is concerned, the Government will inaugurate nine more major projects before March 31. The first phase of the KFON project, which aims at providing high-speed internet facility to government offices and BPL families will be completed and services launched in February. The icing on the cake is the completion of the GAIL pipeline project in the face of stiff opposition. The prestigious project of the LDF Government will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister today. The CM also announced the decision to create an additional 10,000 jobs through loans distributed by the Kerala Bank and primary co-operative banks.

As part of the election campaign, the Chief Minister undertook a week-long Kerala tour to explain the Government’s intent to implement more people-friendly measures and to have afirst-hand knowledge of the problems of various districts.

The CM also put the Congress, still smarting under the shocking defeat in the local body elections, on the defensive by accusing it of surrendering to the Indian Union Muslim League(IUML). The CM’s remark has to be viewed against the backdrop of IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty’s decision to return to state politics. It was a deft move, which has exposed the Congress to the charge of succumbing to the machinations of fundamentalist forces which are tightening their grip on the IUML. Pinarayi’s criticism has been endorsed by various Christian groups which shifted their allegiance to the LDF in the local body elections, paving the way for the LDF’s remarkable poll victory.

Though formal seat allocation talks have not started, there are indications that there will be few problems in the LDF camp on that account. The only problem the front is facing the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s stance that it will not hand over the Pala seat the party won in the by-election. There is speculation that the NCP may split and a faction may cross over to the UDF if the Pala seat is given to the Kerala Congress (M) Jose faction, which has become an ally of the LDF and whose entry to the Front enabled the LDF to make impressive gains in central Kerala, hitherto considered a bastion of the UDF. This is in glaring contrast to the disarray and infighting which marks the seat allocation talks in the UDF and the faction-ridden BJP.

The NP factor is fleabite considering another development which must cause utmost concern to the LDF. It is the inroads the BJP has made into the strongholds of the LDF, particularly in the rural areas. The LDF’s vote erosion is most visible in Kollam and Alapuzha districts, traditional strongholds of the LDF. That the BJP’s votes have suffered a decline in Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts and setback in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation polls is cold comfort for the LDF. The CPI-M, in particular, will have to seriously introspect on the erosion of votes in its strongholds in rural areas if it wants to halt the onward march of the saffron forces there.

The LDF has also decided to launch a week-long house-to-house campaign from March 24 to acquaint the voters with the government’s policies and welfare programmes.

It is also clear that the LDF will repeat the pattern it followed in the local body elections in the matter of candidate selection. The LDF’s success is attributed in a big way to the fielding of fresh faces and young candidates besides a large number of Independents supported by the front who did not contest on party symbols. This helped the LDF, especially the CPI-M, to neutralize the anti-incumbency factor.

The false allegations made by the Opposition against the Government have obviously not gone down well with the voters. The disenchantment of the people with the negative politics of the Opposition is clear from the decisive verdict in favour of the LDF. The people clearly voted for the LDF, which focussed on people-friendly steps and welfare measures. The LDF government is pretty confident of repeating the creditable victory it scored in the local body elections in the Final – the assembly polls - too. (IPA Service)