Challenges to Kerala’s Democracy: A Conversation with TM Thomas Isaac (Part II)
V Santhakumar speaks with TM Thomas Isaac
V Santhakumar (VS): Coming back to Kerala, I see some changes. Conventionally forces which were opposed to the Left seem to be moving towards the Left. For example, I think there is a wider acceptance of the Left among the younger or new generation of Muslims, or even among the Christians, would you agree?
Thomas Isaac (TI): Christians were in the Communist Party just like in any other party till my generation, and after that, this stopped. Now that is changing because of two reasons. The Church also realises that we are a reality; we cannot be wished away. And we also accept that the Church cannot be wished away. There has to be co-existence and we should understand this. And the Church wants to pursue certain things. Though we are not believers, we may create an atmosphere for them to pursue these. They also understand the changes in the politics that take place. Middle-class Christians also appreciate the changes. So, if we take the 2016 and 2021 elections, the percentage of Christians who voted for us has gone up from 29 to 39 percent. Similarly, the Muslim community feels very insecure, and the Left is a political force that will never take an anti-Muslim stand. So, wherever the Muslims are in a minority, not in the Muslim League dominated areas, the Left is making inroads. Malapuram finds an increase in the number of seats compared to what the Left could win any time in the past. That’s the position you take. But in other areas, the Left is the source of protection for the Muslim community. And that is bringing about a change. Among the Muslims also, some 38-39 percent voted for the Left in 2021.
VS: Is the change, more likely to lead to a continuous rule of the LDF?
TI: Yes, see I told you why the alternative power system came into Kerala. The Left advanced to about 40 percent in the 60’s elections, but since then they are stuck there because they could not make headway among the minorities; they could not bring together the peasants and agricultural workers and could not influence the middle-class. Now, these things as impediments are becoming weaker and therefore, I predict a third-time government.
VS: Probably an additional factor could be the weakening of the Congress, the Kerala Congress and the Muslim League as parties and to a certain extent, the BJP is making inroads into the vote base of the Congress.
TI: For Congress, it has been a shock that they couldn’t come back to power. So, there is an element of demoralisation. And the kind of leadership changes that they have been affecting is not helping at all. See, this Congress leadership is looking out for confrontation. That is the style of the new KPCC President. Congress’ support base is the middle class, and I don’t think they like this kind of style. The cadre may be enthused but not their mass support base, so I think the Congress could weaken politically. But nothing can be taken for granted. If you don’t perform, or if you do lousy work, there will definitely be repercussions. It is also not as if they have disappeared so the difference will still continue to be by a few percentage points. So, the opposition is not to be taken for granted.
VS: The BJP has multiple dimensions, the Hindutva is one but there is also a very strong leader, who is not negotiating with factional leaders or coalition parties, a certain kind of push for economic growth. The image of Narendra Modi is also an important element. But whether it is Turkey or India or the Philippines, there is a preference for, among the middle class or the aspirational middle class, a strong leader, a strong government which survives and facilitates economic growth, even if there is a certain trade-off in terms of democracy, human rights, etc. There is a preference for that kind of a strong government. Do you see that kind of picture at the international level?
TI: The BJP advanced through polarisation. It’s just polarisation, communal polarization. Ultimately that’s what happens. Even in these elections, the Hijab has been used in UP so widely, that I would suspect that it was created just for this purpose and that some of the Muslim friends fell into the trap of raising it while the elections were going on. So, it’s a communal polarization which is the basis of the BJP’s success. Other things are there, maybe, but look at the astounding blunders – demonetisation and many other things. It’s finally the PR that works rather than a great leader. Whichever actions he has taken, have floundered, even at the time of COVID. So, India’s economic performance has deteriorated and even if we take 30 years of neo-liberalism in India, ever since Modi came, it has been coming down.
VS: It is interesting that the poor performance has not translated into the election failure, so you are saying that the ‘Hindutva’ is a PR job?
TI: I am not saying Hindutva is a PR job. When demonetisation took place, I called a press meeting that night itself. It took only half an hour for the press report to arrive, I called it ‘madness’. I just called it madness. Neoliberalism means you don’t tamper with the money and here is somebody going away with the money. So, it’s crazy, but nobody was willing to condemn it. See, there is a whole lot of PR work and manipulation. Money is not a simple thing. Whichever party in India is in power, has money. All the money is cornered by them. They have champion investors who have an interest in this regime and are continuing to fund it.
VS: In the end, I think that is probably a futuristic question, and I also expect you to answer it as someone concerned about the future of Kerala. Let us take a hypothetical situation. Let us assume that the Left is coming back for the next time and also probably the fourth term etc., partly because of the change in support bases; — the CPM’s influence increasing among the Muslims and Christians and a weakening of the Congress etc. Do you think that in such a situation, the internal structure of the CPM is capable of sustaining the kind of democratic space that is available to the people of Kerala?
TI: Oh definitely! See, younger generations have come up in leadership, not only at the state level but at district levels also. Also, there is immense awareness of what is happening, not only in Kerala, but also in the country. The need for preserving Kerala’s alternative is so paramount. Only somebody with the hierarchical instinct would do something else. So, I have no doubt that the survival of the Left would depend upon understanding the larger, national context of preserving Kerala as a democratic polity.
VS: I also hope that the experience of West Bengal and Tripura also may serve as a lesson.
TI: Definitely! We should be willing to learn from the experience and lessons.
VS: Thank you, thank you very much.
Travancore Mathew Thomas Isaac is an Indian politician and economist, who served as the Minister for Finance and Coir of the Indian state of Kerala and a central committee member of the Communist Party of India. He represented the Alappuzha constituency in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
V Santhakumar is Professor, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.
Featured photo by Sreehari Devadas on Unsplash
