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Politicians' suicides worry Kerala psychiatrists

The local body elections in Kerala have turned the spotlight on politicians, but for the wrong reasons. Unable to cope with the fall-out of losing elections, a new breed of politicians, not familiar with the rough and tumble of politics, is resorting to suicides.

There have been four suicides, including by three candidates, following the declaration of results of the local bodies' elections. This attracted the attention of psychiatrists since it is the first time that defeat in elections has figured as a cause for ending life.

They feel that the new crop of politicians thrown up by the decentralisation process, especially women, may find it difficult to cope with the malicious type of campaigns employed by seasoned politicians.

Sixty-five-year-old Thamilakath Vasanthiamma, a candidate of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist who lost the election by just 35 votes, could not tolerate a victory rally the supporters of her rival, a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, staged near her house at Kilimanoor, near the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram.

A retired teacher, Vasanthiamma hanged herself in the bathroom after jubilant BJP workers taunted her during the rally.

A Congress candidate, 28-year-old Sree Jayaprakash of Kozhanjanpara village, consumed poison and died in a lodge in Thrissur. The reason: Some of his party colleagues burst crackers in front of his house soon after his defeat in the elections. He had lost by just 33 votes.

Jayaprakash, a bachelor, borrowed some money from a friend and went to Thrissur. He called up his parents to say that he would not be returning home and that they need not worry about him before consuming poison.

A section of Congress workers were jubilant over his defeat since they had opposed his candidature as he had defected from the Janata Dal before the elections.

On hearing the news of his death, three of his friends also tried to commit suicide by consuming poison. They were rushed to hospital. Apparently, they were apprehensive that their political rivals would attack them.

For 48-year-old Jayachandran Nair, the reason for ending his life by hanging on a cashew tree near his house was the defeat of his wife Valsamma, a Left Democratic Front candidate in the election to the Adoor municipality.

Valsamma lost to her rival United Democratic Front candidate by 287 votes. Jayachandran was active in drumming up support for her. The couple has two children.

Another LDF candidate, 24-year-old Mallika Sasi, found it difficult to accept her defeat in the polls to the Kuttanpuzha village panchayat in Ernakulam district. She doused herself in kerosene and set herself ablaze soon after she knew that she had lost the contest by just 65 votes.

Mallika was all dressed up to go and witness the oath-taking ceremony of the victorious candidates at the panchayat office along with her husband. However, all of a sudden, she got into a room, locked it from inside and reportedly torched herself. Efforts by her husband and neighbours to save her proved fruitless.

The suicidal tendency among politicians has made election time as dangerous as examination time. Usually, psychiatrists and social action groups engaged in suicide prevention have a tough time during the announcement of results of the Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination.

Dr K Krishnankutty, former head of the department of psychiatry in Trivandrum Medical College, said that the fear of loss of social prestige could be one of the reasons for the suicides among defeated candidates.

"The new creed of politicians is ill-equipped to face wild allegations and character assassination that have become part of election campaigns. While seasoned politicians take these in their stride, the new ones feel that it would erode their social status," Dr Krishnankutty told rediff.com.

This development cannot be taken lightly in a state like Kerala where people commit suicide for reasons varying from failure in examinations to not being allowed to watch television.

The suicide rate in the state is much above the national average - 27 per 100,000 persons as against the national average of 10. It ranks second after Goa in the suicide chart of India.

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