Waiting to rule God's own country
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the man leading the election campaign of the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala, is always on the move. Despite a fall at Davos while attending the World Economic Forum, he moves briskly among the crowds, asking for votes.
"People have faith in me, because my government carried out development projects that Kerala has never seen in the last 50 years," Chandy claims. Despite poll surveys that have predicted a clean sweep for the Marxists-led Left Democratic Front, he is not worried. "Who believes in surveys these days?" he asks.
His UDF may or not may perform well, but Chandy remains one of the most popular politicians in Kerala. Congressman K Rajendran says people admire Chandy because "he connects well with them. For everyone's problem, our chief minister has a solution."
Are you facing a bleak future in this election, we ask Chandy. "I look forward to a good result, because we have performed very well. Do you think the people of Kerala will now elect an anti-development Marxist party to power?" he retorts.
So, does he hope to be chief minister one more time? "The ball is in the people's court. Let them decide," he replies.
Text: George Iype | Photographs: Rajesh Prasad
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