In the very first days of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala, which saw a nepotism controversy that had put the ruling front on the defensive, it can be said that the resignation of the person concerned in the controversy has for the time being helped the face of both the party and the government. The appointment of Benny Thomas, the brother-in-law of State Congress president and Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph, as Additional Private Secretary had placed both the party and the ruling front in an embarrassing situation. Although Minister Sunny and some Congress leaders attempted to justify the appointment by citing Benny’s political and administrative experience, both the minister and the party ultimately found themselves with no option but to back down. The fact that Benny’s name figured first in the list of the initial 13 members of the minister’s personal staff was not as innocent as Minister Sunny would make it out to be. This became evident when, following the controversy, details emerged of the minister’s apparent patronage towards relatives, including efforts to accommodate family members one after another in the cooperative sector and elsewhere. Consequently, Congress and UDF leaders, including the present Chief Minister who had previously campaigned against the former government over the appointment of ministers’ relatives, had little choice but to secure Benny’s resignation in order to salvage their credibility.
The UDF leadership and the president of the party leading it can hardly be unaware that it was the Marxist party’s slide into the decay of dynastic politics and party-cell governance, marked by nepotistic appointments and the accommodation of party cadres, that led the people to throw out both the party and the Left Democratic Front government it headed. The UDF knows better than anyone else that the Left Front’s historic defeat in its bastion of Kannur was largely attributed to the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s preference for family connections over merit in candidate selection. It also understands that the strong anti-incumbency wave was fuelled by CPI-M's policies that effectively turned the government into the preserve of a select few, and that it was this public discontent that the UDF successfully capitalised on to secure victory. The Congress-led front won an impressive mandate by taking a firm and uncompromising stand against what it described as the LDF's Stalinist style of governance. However, after being out of power for a long ten years and finally regaining office, some ministers in the ruling front appear to behave in a manner that shows disregard for the very public interest that brought them to power. This can hardly be ignored. At a time when those who lost power and moved into the opposition are identifying their failures and acknowledging their mistakes, it is nothing short of astonishing that some members of the UDF cabinet seem eager to repeat those very same errors in exactly the same manner. The nepotism controversy should be viewed in that context—as a striking repetition of the very first blunder committed by the first Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet, now being followed almost step for step.
The UDF's unprecedented victory in the election was a public endorsement of its stand against the LDF's deviation from its stated principles and course. In the Chief Ministerial election, the people once again made it clear that they would not tolerate any attempt to appropriate the true mandate behind that victory. Kerala also witnessed how those who had adopted a public stance of insulting the very voters who elected them, buoyed by the number of seats their party had won, and those who supported such behaviour, were eventually subjected to scrutiny and correction by the very supporters of the alliance itself. Throughout this period, political Kerala was reminding the ruling front that what mattered was not the promises loudly proclaimed during the election campaign, but their implementation in practice. Voters shifted their support to the UDF after getting weary of carrying the burden of a Left government that had failed to fulfil its promise that “everything would be set right” even after two consecutive terms in office. It was in the hope inspired by the UDF's promises of a new era that voters decisively altered the political landscape. That is precisely why every move of the United Democratic Front government is being subjected to close public scrutiny.
Having assumed the responsibility of meeting the expectations of the people, the United Democratic Front government cannot afford to retreat from the path it has chosen. The massive public reaction against the irresponsible actions of newly appointed ministers Sunny Joseph and Bindu Krishna is a clear indication that the people will not let go of such conduct. While ministers do have the prerogative to appoint members of their personal staff of their choice, that does not mean they are free to act according to personal whims. Ministers may also find it necessary to give due regard to leaders of religious and community organisations. However, before seeking their blessings, they must remember that they were elected by securing votes from people who rejected the poisonous narratives of communal hatred and division. When such shortcomings are pointed out, those raising criticism should not be ridiculed with sarcastic greetings or dismissive remarks. Criticising those who repeatedly gravitate towards familiar faults despite clear warnings is neither unreasonable nor unwarranted. Those who laugh at critics must realise that it is the very same people—who know well where to place those who invite public disapproval—who have now elevated them to ministerial office. The United Democratic Front must not seek to replicate the past; it must strive to correct it.
After ten years of political starvation in the opposition, spread across two terms, it is perhaps understandable that, upon returning to the corridors of power, some may develop an eagerness to seize and consume everything within reach. Those newly assuming ministerial office may also experience the growing pains that often accompany the exercise of power. However, if such tendencies are not foreseen and handled with care, the change in government itself could lead to disruption. The public too may grow disillusioned and uneasy. If the present controversies are recognised as symptoms of that condition and addressed accordingly, the United Democratic Front government will succeed.