Sweeping changes Most of the Left leaders in Kerala dreamt 2014 election would be a cakewalk for them.

Time and tide fa oured them as solar scam tainted !ongress was losing ground da" b" da". !#$M state leadership belie ed that the" could car e an impressi e tall" from the state and tease their %engal commrades who had no chance to make their part" flag fl"ing in Mamta ra aged soil. Left &ront was hea il" banking on Kerala which 20 lok sabha constituencies. 'hile briefing the #art" State !ommittee( !#$M State Secretar" #inara"i )i*a"an before finali+ing candidates( he was o er confidant and bit arrogant. ,e had managed to win the confidence of two prominent !ongress leaders who agreed to fight election for Left &ront and he also had a trump card - #opular Mala"alam film actor $nnocent who *oined the fra" as a L.& $ndependent candidate from !halakud". /gain !hristi &ernade+( former Secretar" to &ormer #resident #ratiba patil wholeheartedl" read" to step in the shoes of a semi comrade and fight election as an !#$M independent candidate from 0rnakulam and Kasturirangan recommendations uprooting !ongress ote bank in the ,igh ranges( #inara"i had e er"thing to feel good. ,e had managed Left affairs well in the state with his tricks and management skills. So he bulldo+ed the proceedings and directed the !#$M candidates to start their election campaign at the earliest. ,e wanted them to complete their first round campaign before !ongress and 1.& candidates enter the fra". %ut 2od was against him. 'ithin a da"( !ongress engineered a political coup b" winning 3e olutionar" Socialist #art"4s confidence and offered them Kollam seat. 3S# has been with Left front in Kerala since 1560 and considered to be more lo"al to !#$M than !#$. The 3e olutionar" Socialist #art" continues to remain as an integral part of the Left &ront in %engal and Tripura and at the 7ational le el. $t was a great surprise and a political coup. 3S# snaped ties with the !#$M and embraced !ongress led 1nited democratic &ront after 84 "ears to register their protest against the 9big %rother: !#$M. Later Later ;anta .al Secular headed b" Mathew T Thomas too re olted against !#$M den"ing tickets for the part" and managed to get Kotta"am. ;. Secular has four ML/s in Kerala /ssembl" threatened that the part" would field candidates in fi e constituencies against Left &ront. &inall" !#$M offered Kotta"am seat to ;. secular and directed the part" candidate to opt out out from the fra". &orward %lock and $ndian 7ational League( two political outfits which were supporting Left &ront in Kerala( but not part of $t ( staged their feeble protest and decided to field candidates against Left &ront in few constituencies. Later the" also withdrew their candidates. /ll these political de elopments damaged Left front in Kerala lea ing !#$M leadership to re iew its positions before election campaign started. !hief Minsiter <ommen !hand" was so happ" as he welcomed 3S# leaders in #!! office and distributed sweets to mark their return to the 1.& fold. %ut !ongress and 1.& were not in a comfortable mood as the re olt was brewing in its cup too. Kerala !ongress Mani demanded !ongress sitting seat( $dukki where #T Thomas( an <omman !hand" lo"alist who locked horns with $dukki !atholic %ishop Mathew /niku+hikattil in the issue of implementation of Kasturirangan recommendations on 'estern 2hats. Mani has no choice as his part" is on the erge of split if he had not demanded the $dukki seat. !ongress sacrificed #alakad to make ;anata .al .emocratic headed b" M# )eerendrakumar happ". #! !hacko sitting M# from Thrissur demanded !halakud" seat as he feared that a section

of !ongress leaders and !atholci church leaders were working against him. &inall" /K anton" inter ened and pacified K# .hanapalan ( sitting memember to shift from !halakud" to Thrissur. !ongress left with onl" 1= seats and too man" leaders to accommodate( both <ommen !hand" and #!! #resident )M sudheeran used their acrobatic skills to tide o er the re olts. $ndian 1nion Muslim League( ma*or constituent of 1.& too hit with election re olt s"ndrome. $1ML cadres ob*ected 1nion Minister of state for 0>ternal /ffairs and the 7ational #resident 0. /hmed seeking part" ticket from Malappuram. !adres raised slogans against /hmed who isits his constituenc" onl" during the election as guest artist. The" wanted him to retire from election politcis. %ut ?@ "ear old /hmed outsmarted his detractors and managed his seat( Muslim dominated Malappuram with his right political connections and crisis management skills. Later a ma*or section of !ongress cadres re olted against M$ Shana as who was gi en part" ticket for the second term to contest from 'a"anad. 0 en %;# was no better as cadres and ,indu Munnani re olted against K; /lphonse( former $/S officer turned Modi fan contesting from #athanamthitta. .espite all his support from the top %;# leadership( /lphonse was denied part" ticket at the last minute. %ut Kerala election ring has too man" surprises and fancies. <ther than hardcore politicians( $nteresting mi> of former ci il ser ants( film star( *ournalist( social acti ist and writer ha e entered the election ring to bat for different parties. !andidates like 7K #remachandran( #eelipose Thomas( /bdu 3ehman are on the political delearning process and tr"ing to forget their political past with new +eal if the" want to win.