More than a vote at stake in Kerala

By John Cheeran
I have little more than a vote at stake in the Kerala State Assembly Elections that is taking place in India now.
Two of my friends are contesting the elections for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Trichur (Thrissur) district. They are the candidates of Communist Party of India (CPI).
Both V.S. Sunil Kumar and Rajaji Mathew Thomas are young and they fuel the hope for a better quality of political life in Kerala. Sunil Kumar is contesting in Cherppu constituency while Rajaji is trying his luck at Ollur.
Rajaji is a former General Secretary of All India Students Federation (AISF) and All India Youth Federation (AIYF). Sunil is the Kerala state Secretary of AIYF now.
We got to know each other during the early 90s when CPI held its National Conference in Thrissur.
Sunil and Rajaji are honest and tireless workers of the CPI and their induction into the poll arena will strengthen an aging leadership of the party.
I have not met Sunil Kumar recently. I met Rajai two years ago at the CPI headquarters in Thrissur. Standing at the veranda of Comrade Varrier Memorial Building, it took me a few seconds to recognize Rajaji Mathew. The fire in this Communist’s belly apparently was doused by the inertia in the party. He was greatly alarmed by the political drift in the party. There was no immediate answer to whither the CPI? The outlook was bleak then even in Thrissur, which had been home to legendary Communist struggles in the past. The Bharatiya Janata Party was in power at Centre and the Congress-led UDF was ruling at Thiruvananthapuram.
I have been told that both Sunil and Rajaji have bright chances of winning their seats in this election and becoming MLAs.
Whenever I think of these two comrades, an election defeat pops up in memory. With Sunil being the campaign manager, AISF had contested student elections in Sree Kerala Varma College in 1992. Breaking convention and in a brave tactical move, AISF had taken on the might of SFI, the Marxists’s fountainhead.
All of us, including me, lost that election battle.
I wish Cherppu and Ollur can make amends for that defeat 14 years later.
Lal Salaam!