Congratulations LDF and its constituents for the sounding victory in local body elections as a firm footing on its march ahead to Assembly Elections.
This marvelous success achieved by the people, the LDF and its constituents excels all the previous ones. Why because, this is achieved by overcoming the much deep rooted conspiracy by the UDF, plotted on its behalf by the Finance Capital. The UDF (Ummen Chandy lead Ruling Clique) prompted unholy alliance between the BJP and the SNDP leadership was effectively met by the LDF with least damage to itself, the people of Kerala and to the progressive state politics. The set back in Trivandrum, Palakkad and Kasaragod due to increased seats for BJP could be addressed by the LDF in due course. UDF couldnot avoid the inevitable fall with all its nefarious activities. Despite the consolidation of minority votes in certain districts, as a response to the UDF sponsored BJP_SNDP alliance, the UDF could not retain its hold over local bodies to the level it achieved in the past. LDF did make a clean come back in village Panchayaths, Block Panchayaths, District Panchayaths and Municipalities and bettered its position in Municiapal Corporations, establishing a clear hold over them, despite all the adverse conditions created by the UDF and BJP alliances.
The UDF constituents, the Congress, KCM and Muslim League have to introspect themselves in the context of the growing corruption and related social ills and the consequent set back suffered by them. Congress has to introspect as to whether it shall continue the unholy UDF outfit as a confederation of all caste and communal organisations, especially with minority religious political outfits, giving rise to complaints from other sections of the people, as raised by SNDP and giving rise to allegations of minority appeasing as raised by BJP. Kerala Congress and Muslim Leage, the two political outfits representing minority communities, has to introspect on their part whether they shall continue to help the Congress, the failing and disintegrating outfit and the BJP the upcoming and boisterous outfit of the finance capital corporates and, both, contributing to consolidation of the majority communal forces, in their own way, though different, with a view to serve the interest of finance capital by disrupting the unity of the people. Kerala Congress (M) and Muslim League, as representative of minority communities, in the Kerala context, can have their own place in Local Self Governance and as opposition in state assembly by correcting and guiding the state government and participating in developmental activities lead by the state governments run by secular political parties. The minority community organisations shall not aspire to power at the state level through their communal outfits. On the other hand members of their community can work with secular political parties. This shall clear the Kerala Politics of communal intervention of any sort, once for all, and make Kerala Politics healthy, progressive, people friendly and beneficial to each and every member of every community, irrespective of whether they are minority and majority. Nothing in this arrangement shall prevent the minority community from enjoying the benefits of minority rights conferred by the constitution of India as rule of law is one of the basic tenets of the democratic governance.
As for the other secular political parties owing allegiance to the working class and farmers etc has to introspect themselves whether they have to continue their mismatching alliance with the Congress and BJP, the representatives of the Finance Capital Corporates.
LDF with its unity at state level among the constituents and within the constituents contributed to the success in a big way. In so many cases set backs at grass roots level could be attributed to lack of cohesion and unity. These are to be addressed and solved before the state elections.
As has been done in the case of local body elections, a detailed state level program of action (manifesto) shall be drawn up with community participation and placed before the electorate for the assembly election too. This could be based on the seminars that were being held under the auspices of AKGSC in the recent past.
The main orientation of such action program shall be to bring the market under the control of the community which shall be the concrete alternative to the present market dominated by the Global, National and state level Finance capital. Naturally, maximum local/state level/national production and distribution within, direct online marketing of surplus products and direct online sourcing of essential commodities that are not locally/state level/nationally available, world class education in the neighborhood that shall provide education to all at minimum cost at minimum distance with online linkages to free and open knowledge repositories, health for all program that shall provide world class health care at the nearest community health center with online specialist consultation with clear orientation to control of diseases through healthy life style, clean environment, preventive practices, immunization etc which shall decrease the cost for medical treatment and palliative care, alternative media network based on internet and telephone network, local/national production of communication switches and systems, locally/nationally developed e-systems for banking, insurance, governance, water and power distribution and such other service sectors, quality construction practices for world class infrastructure, such as roads, flyovers, metros, buildings etc and above all mother tongue based learning and governance, which, all together, shall create a cultural scenario that enables the community to resist the onslaught and infiltration of finance capital driven consumerist culture, that helps only and only the finance capital and not the local community.
Development and expansion of Public Sector, Co-operatives, Community organisations etc which shall be umbrella organisations for enabling and empowering self employed entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium enterprises. Management of Public Sector Enterprises shall be re-engineered with a view to make it more democratic. Workers participation in management, Community monitoring etc shall be introduced as a beginning.
Self Governing Communities with local production and their consumption and direct on line marketing of surpluses and direct on line sourcing of essentials shall mitigate the problems faced by workers, farmers, self employed entrepreneurs, micro-small and medium enterprises and retail traders and will unify the workes, farmers, self employed and micro-small and medium entepreneurs and traders, which shall be the best fortress for resisting the onslaught of finance capital, both global, national and local.
