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Follow Gulf News' special coverage and analysis of the Indian Elections 2019
#IndianElections #Modi #BJP
Follow Gulf News' special coverage and analysis of the Indian Elections 2019
#IndianElections #Modi #BJP
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon and welcome to the next live update on the Indian elections coverage from
00:07GovNews.
00:08Today, and right now, we are going to be looking at Kerala, which is proving to be an extremely
00:15interesting state in what we are seeing as a saffron wave across India, starting off
00:22with me, Adonna, Shyam and Alex, and they're going to give their perspective on why this
00:29has happened and what this looks like for the future of the state.
00:33So starting with you, Adonna, your millennial perspective on the elections, because especially
00:39keeping in mind that this elections has seen a large turnout of a younger voting percentage.
00:46So like I said earlier, maybe this is the mandate of the youth of India.
00:51Yeah, from a very personal point of view, I'm really happy with the way things have
00:57turned out, and I'm happy if this actually signifies what youth in Kerala want.
01:03At the same time, it is also saddening to see that we are in fact one of the very few
01:09states that have actually, this is a very personal opinion, but that have actually,
01:14you know, not responded to the hate that was tried to, you know, that was tried by the
01:20BJP as a strategy in Kerala.
01:23But that is not to say that communalism does not exist in Kerala, it's just the way that
01:29the BJP, I think their weakness in Kerala was that they do not understand the population.
01:35They do not understand a very unique set of people that are Malayalees.
01:41And probably the earliest settlers of the land, what we call India right now.
01:49And that is one of the reasons why the BJP has, as we discussed earlier, never been able
01:54to open its account, even, in Kerala, while yes, there are party workers, there are young
02:00members of the party, BJP has some presence, they've never been able to make a mark.
02:06And so much so that even their only MLA, the BJP MLA, who is a great minister, actually
02:14said that no, BJP will not rule in Kerala for quite some time.
02:19So it is very, you know, it's like a bittersweet thing that we are happy that they are not,
02:24that I am happy that they are not in, I think.
02:27But like, I actually read a comment online about the communalism aspect.
02:32So this person is saying that Kerala also understands and responds to communalism, like
02:38it is ingrained in our culture to look at people differently.
02:42But at the same time-
02:43You mean to say in terms of Kerala as a state?
02:45Kerala, not just Kerala, India in general, has strains of communalism ingrained in us
02:52due to various reasons, partition and, you know, all the government and politics play
02:57that goes on.
02:58But in Kerala, what BJP didn't understand was that Malayalees do not like flaunting
03:04their communalism, or they would never say, come out right and say that, you know, I am
03:10against this particular group of people or anything like that.
03:14So I think that's why BJP failed, because they forgot what, or they don't even know
03:19the diaspora that they are dealing with.
03:22And that is the reason why I think Kerala stopped the Saffron Wave.
03:27Which brings me to Shyam.
03:28Does that mean, is it also because of the history of Laal Salaam in Kerala?
03:34Yeah, partly, yes.
03:36I mean, in a lighter way, I would say that it's because we love our beef and parotta.
03:42So we wouldn't want BJP there.
03:44I mean, in a serious way, yes, because Kerala is a country which is a state where the Marxists,
03:51basically communists, had a long history, their long history of struggle and the agrarian
03:57reforms, all that thing came in.
03:59So they know their past very well, and that past has gone on to the next generation very
04:05well, they understand that.
04:06Then why don't we turn communalist, like Donald said, yes, communalism is very part
04:11of our fabric, but communalism stops at our homes.
04:15When you step out of our home, we're not communal.
04:17Our neighbor is a Hindu or a Muslim, it doesn't really matter.
04:20So we embrace all these things, and we live among each other, so that harmony is very
04:26much there, so it doesn't reflect in the electorate, or the electorate doesn't show
04:29it in the way they vote.
04:32And this election is a clear example.
04:34And up till now, they have not won a parliamentary seat, yes, they have won one seat in the
04:40assembly, that's the name of the assembly.
04:42That is, I, that's in Trivandrum, actually.
04:46Trivandrum has a decent BJP base because of the RSS there.
04:50Also, that was won by O. Rajagopal.
04:53He's a very respected man, respected politician, partly, I guess, partly because of his charisma
04:59and people respect him, that's perhaps what he won, not just because of the BJP.
05:03But having said that, yes, Trivandrum has a decent BJP base, which is why they expected
05:08Gopalan Rajasekaran to upset Tarun.
05:10Of course, that didn't happen.
05:11But Trivandrum has it, they expected it to happen.
05:15But even that is slightly worrying for the rest of them.
05:20But for BJP, yes, it was a setback for them.
05:22Which reminds me, coming to the numbers in Kerala, of the 20 seats, 19 has been taken
05:28by the United Democratic Front, which is Congress-led, and one by the LDF, which is the Alapura seat.
05:36And that is the CBM, right?
05:39Which is basically the Marxist.
05:42Coming back, or rather coming to you, Alex, is that from what I hear is, do you think
05:48the Saffron Wave stopped because the Malayali identity as a united kind of format is very
05:57strong and can't be that easily divided based on faith division?
06:03I think, you know, what I like about the Malayali is that the Malayali is open to all kinds
06:08of thought.
06:09You can tell him or her a whole lot of things.
06:12But finally, he will do only what he thinks is right, right?
06:17So when the BJP came in, they thought that just like it's doing in many other parts,
06:22the temple issue would play a big role, right?
06:26So the...
06:26Sabarimala.
06:27Sabarimala, that's right, yeah.
06:28So the Malayali sat and listened to everything that the BJP had to say.
06:34And then finally, they decided, no, you know, we've got to give you an answer to this.
06:38And they answered at the ballot, at the hustings, which is what they have already done.
06:43So even if you see at the assembly, during the assembly elections, usually they vote
06:48one government in, they wait to see what happens.
06:51And then after five years, they vote the government out and they'll bring the other party in.
06:56And this time, I think they were all united so strong in saying that we don't want you
07:01anywhere in Kerala.
07:03And that's the answer that they have given at the ballot.
07:06Yes.
07:06So it's a kind of Kerala's response to the various decisions that they feel that the
07:12centre has kind of tried to push down their throat over the past five years.
07:16Would you say that?
07:18Well, I would say that, yes.
07:20And also the fact that, you know, the Kerala saying that, you know, we know what is good
07:26for the state.
07:27You can't come here and tell us that, you know, this, we are going to rule the state
07:32with these things in mind.
07:34They say, no, that's not.
07:35We know what's good for the state.
07:37And we will do things, are we?
07:39But what does this mean looking at the overall majority and this whole traditional kind of
07:45issue that you've seen North versus South that has happened in India?
07:49What do you think this means?
07:51And especially this win means in the current environment and the numbers?
07:55It means that Kerala has said very emphatically that we are not going to be divided.
08:01We are not going to be polarised.
08:03We are not going to be set apart based on what you say, based on the lines that you
08:10are going, you are saying.
08:12And we are going to be different from all the others.
08:15We are just going to stop where we are here.
08:17And we are going to do what we feel is right.
08:20Coming back to both of you and also to you, Alex, it's a question, does this mean,
08:25because especially if the BJP led government comes into power in the centre, that is going
08:29to affect how they treat Kerala?
08:33I think personally that the South, not just Kerala, there is a lack, there is a discord
08:42in how they understand.
08:44And with BJP, it's more than any other party.
08:48I don't think there will be a very outright difference in how they treat us or a disrespect
08:55or anything of that sort, a negative influence, because they still need to open that account.
09:00They still want it.
09:02And it is growing.
09:03So I remember over the last couple of years, there were moments when people actually thought,
09:09are they going to come into power?
09:11Because they had so many youth workers joining them.
09:15They had some parties trying to make alliances with them.
09:19But the last couple of years have also been, in another way, positive for us, in the sense
09:25that the floods affected Kerala in such a bad way.
09:28And I feel like that united the people in the midst of all the other things that happened,
09:33like Sabarimala and all of that.
09:34The floods happened right after the huge, you know.
09:38So I feel like in terms of them treating us different, I'm sorry to interrupt you.
09:43Do you think the fact that we didn't get sufficient funding for the floods actually affected?
09:49Yeah, I was coming to that.
09:50Because if you look at the amount which was given to Kerala for reconstruction, it's very
09:56paltry compared to what is given to the rest of India.
09:59So there is a definite, what do you call it, stepmotherly treatment from the center.
10:03And the Keralites know it.
10:04And the chief minister also has made, I mean, he made everybody knew that, okay, they are
10:11treating us badly.
10:12Of course, and the Keralites don't forget that, actually.
10:16And Anup, it's not just the floods, but also traditionally the party that is ruling the
10:24country and the party that is in power in Kerala have, for a very long time, I think
10:29they have not been the same parties, yeah?
10:32In sync.
10:33So therefore, definitely Kerala loses out.
10:36And in this time too, Kerala will lose out in many ways.
10:41I mean, you look at several projects which are given to several states, Kerala is always
10:46at the receiving end.
10:47They don't get, whether it is railways or any central government enterprise, Kerala
10:52is always at the losing end.
10:56Anything else you'd like to add?
10:58Yeah, I mean, I would like to stress on the CPM thing, because it is a total washout
11:05for them.
11:05Because the last time it happened was in 1977, when they lost all 20 seats.
11:12But that time, we are coming at the end of the emergency thing.
11:15Unlike the rest of India, Kerala had the best of emergency, because we didn't suffer the
11:20consequences of emergency as much as the North did.
11:23So people were in favor of the Congress at the time.
11:26So all 20 seats they won.
11:28But this is a different time altogether.
11:30I mean, if you look at it, the CPM handled the floods quite well, actually.
11:35But OK, the reconstruction part leaves a lot to be desired.
11:38But the floods, they handled very well.
11:40But in the controversy, OK, I wouldn't still call it popular anger.
11:45I would say a section of the anger was directed.
11:48He handled it well.
11:49See, at the end, he was saying that we are just implementing the Supreme Court decision.
11:53It's not our decision.
11:54It's the court decision.
11:55See, hats off to him for standing up.
11:57But if you ask me, well, did that cost them?
12:00I don't think so.
12:01Because if the temporal controversy would have cost them, then BJP should have came.
12:06But BJP didn't came.
12:07And that is perhaps one of the single point agendas where Modi and Amit Shah, when they
12:12came to Kerala, they harped on it repeatedly.
12:15But Keralites didn't fall for that.
12:17So that didn't really work out for them.
12:18So we don't know why CPM has had such an output.
12:23I would say it is perhaps a mandate-only rule in the sense of the way they govern, actually.
12:30Because most of the time, we hear, especially the Prime Minister's staff, pretty aggressive
12:37posturing, really.
12:38He is cantankerous when it handles to press or anything.
12:42He ousted the media from press conferences.
12:46He gives you very curt answers, that kind of thing.
12:49Politics, he doesn't do none of that.
12:51He could do it some 20 years back, those kind of attitudes.
12:54I know people like Nayanar used to behave like that, but no.
12:57In a changing world, in a changing time, and the youth want a difference.
13:01Yes, and CPM is caught in a time warp.
13:05Can I ask you one question, Shah?
13:07Do you think Rahul Gandhi, standing from Wayanad, has made a big difference?
13:12Yes, it actually galvanized the Congress ranks, really.
13:16I mean, if it was not for Rahul Gandhi, maybe there were around 15 to 16 seats.
13:21This is 19, it is almost a clean sweep.
13:23Because Gandhi family has some kind of magic in the minds of Keralites.
13:32We love this Gandhi family.
13:33So anybody with a Gandhi name comes there, Keralites tend to fall for it.
13:37You can say that we are the most literate people.
13:40We understand politics.
13:41We can see through BJP's designs.
13:44But when it comes to Gandhis, I think Keralites have a soft corner.
13:48Which is why it looks like Rahul Gandhi is set for a huge, perhaps record win, actually.
13:52More than 300,000 is what I saw.
13:54He's leading by more than 300,000 votes.
13:57Maybe it's also an indicator where they felt that they were being given the due respect
14:02that for the longest time the center has not given.
14:08Yeah, also, I would say that, again, we come to the north-south divide again.
14:13You look at all the prime ministers from India, most of them are from the north.
14:16The last southern prime minister I can remember is maybe Narasimha Rao.
14:19And they were a very brief state.
14:22But here, if Rahul Gandhi comes, and they're hoping that if Congress wins,
14:27they might have thought that, OK, here's a chance for us to have a prime minister.
14:30Lost another chance.
14:33OK, thank you very much for that and for that insightful update.
14:38Thank you again very much for joining us.
14:41But we will be bringing you more such discussions and panel analysis in a short while.
14:46So do log on to gulfnews.com for your news, views, and analysis.
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