The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has pinned its hopes on K.T. Jaleel,who was the Higher Education and Minority Welfare Minister in the first LDF government led by Pinarayi Vijayan, to retain the Tavanur Assembly seat in Malappuram district. His bond with the people and the government’s track record will see him through, he tells The Hindu in an interview. Excerpts:
It looks as if Tavanur is your pocket borough, rather than the Left’s. As you seek a 4th term from the constituency, what do you have to tell the people?
I’ve been with the people of Tavanur for the past 15 years, sharing their happiness and sorrows. I have also implemented several projects in the constituency. Many more dreams remain and we are all trying to realise them. Funds were granted for four major bridges during the first and second Pinarayi Vijayan-led governments. One of them is the Olambakkadavu bridge, which is a kilometre long and runs through the Kole fields; its work is 70% complete. The second is the Nayarthode bridge across the Tirur river. The government allocated ₹65 crore for its construction. The Edappal flyover is the first such structure in a town in Malappuram district. Built at a cost of ₹13 crore, it has helped ease traffic in the area. Technocrat E. Sreedharan filed a petition in the Kerala High Court when all preparatory works had been completed for the construction of the Thirunavaya-Tavanur bridge, seeking an alignment change, saying it was coming between two temples. We did not want to trouble the community of the devotees and have therefore halted it for a comprehensive review and, if needed, a new alignment. All sectors have witnessed comprehensive development. Work on the coastal highway is over. Funds to the tune of ₹250 crore have been allocated under the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) for a Howrah-model bridge from Padinjarekkara to Ponnani. I want to complete this and rubberise all village roads.
You did not want to contest this time. Why did you have a change of mind?
I did not have a change of mind personally. I wanted to step away and make room for newcomers. But the party [the Communist Party of India (Marxist)] insisted that I contest. I did not want to be thankless to the party as it has stood by me in all crises.
Your prime opponent is the Malappuram District Congress Committee (DCC) president V.S. Joy, who is a popular figure. How do you view the fight with him?
My main opponent in 2011 was the then DCC president who was an even more popular figure, V.V. Prakash, who died prematurely. It was the most gentle election, which I won by a margin of over 6,000 votes. In the 2010 local body polls, we were behind the United Democratic Front (UDF) by about 9,000 votes.The UDF was controlling six of the seven local bodies and still I won. Now too, all seven grama panchayats are ruled by the UDF with a cumulative margin of 9,000 votes. Local body elections in no way influence the voting pattern in Assembly elections. There’s a chemistry between me and the people in the constituency. I’m not taking any opponent lightly, but I’ll be able to defeat them. Last time, the UDF brought in the head of a charity mafia with over 10 lakh following on Facebook and presented him as a messiah, but I won, albeit by a low margin of 2,500 votes.
In 2021, you contested the election amidst a slew of controversies and constantly tailed by the media. How do you compare this time with that?
I have never received any pampering from the media because I happened to be a Left co-traveller. For the media to care for you, you have to be from the Congress or the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). If you are in these two parties, you can do anything presumptuous and perverse and there will be lots of people to justify you, protect you, and the media will trivialise your actions. But despite all the complexities and issues, the fact that I was able to win last time demonstrated the trust the people reposed in me.
In 2016, the BJP’s vote share rose by 5%, and in 2021 its vote share fell when the seat was given to the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS). Now it has brought back the old BJP candidate. Is the BJP becoming an influential force in the constituency?
Whenever the BJP’s vote share dropped, my majority dropped too. My victory margin increased whenever the BJP’s vote share increased. Last time, the BJP votes went straight to the UDF as they were bitter about the fact that Central agencies could do nothing against me.
You arrived on the electoral scene in 2006 as a giant killer in the erstwhile Kuttippuram constituency. How do you look at this journey?
If you do honest, selfless political work, you will be able to overcome all challenges. You will not be required to lower your head in front of anyone. I consider myself immensely fortunate to have been able to do political work with my head held high.
Is there anti-incumbency against the government?
In which sector? Did the government do badly in education, health or on the welfare front or was it reluctant to carry out development? We could’ve spoken of anti-incumbency if the roads were bad. We could’ve said the same if the government has not acquired land for the highway, if there were power cuts. Didn’t the government build houses for the landslide victims in a time-bound manner? There is no anti-incumbency because the government has made timely payments of welfare pensions without any delay. Now, housewives get a pension of ₹1,000. All this will come to a halt if the LDF loses.
But the Opposition has levelled allegations against issues in various sectors, including health…
Were they able to prove anything?
Didn’t they approach the High Court with many allegations? Did they get any favourable verdict from the High Court? Any fool can level allegations; but the mettle is in proving them. Were they able to level any substantial allegation against a Minister and bring it to the attention of the Assembly?
Is Jaleel the Left’s trump card in Tavanur?
Not really; it’s a constituency where the Left has a chance to win. In the Lok Sabha and the local body polls, the UDF led by 17,000 and 9,000 votes respectively. But we can win here using our relationships. I am confident of it.
