The Hindu Business Line : The development agenda

The prime issue for the Kerala voter in the coming elections is economic development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

As polling day approaches for the elections to the 140 seats of the 12th State Legislative Assembly, campaigning is on in full swing by candidates of both the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) - the principal opponents in Kerala's political arena - as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a few independent hopefuls.

At campaign rallies and public meetings, several issues are being prominently brought centre stage by the candidates themselves as well as by the public. At voter-candidate public interactions - a new phenomenon created by television and now a must-have in the programming mix of almost all Malayalam TV channels - it is common to see angry voters demanding reasons for the failure of past candidates in delivering on their promises, most of which can be summarized in one word - development.

If by "development" these citizens of Kerala mean the sustained improvement in the well-being of the individual, family, community and society at large, then no one can fault them with using this pre-election phase to drive home some elementary truths.

For a State that has already achieved superior standards in the dimensions of social development - namely, social welfare; health; education; housing; urban and rural development; and land reform - surely the development that Kerala's voters are talking have little to do with the more fundamental human development indicators that relate to reduction or eradication of mass poverty, inequality and conditions of underdevelopment.

Rather, they focus on one pivotal issue - rapid and widespread economic and industrial development.

Thus it was rather surprising to read last week's findings of The Hindu-CNN-IBN Poll conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), which predicts a comprehensive win for the LDF.

The respondents to the poll were asked to rate the ruling UDF on the following key indicators of infrastructural and social development: roads, electricity, drinking water, government schools, government hospitals and law and order.

On all these indicators, the respondents rated the ruling UDF very positively, giving it scores above the 50 per cent mark, rising to 78 per cent for both roads and electricity, and 63 per cent for drinking water.

According to the pollsters, "With this kind of rating on key developmental issues, any government could have hoped to come back to power. This rating is not very different from that received by the Left Front Government in West Bengal in the survey conducted by CSDS. The UDF seems set to lose in Kerala. It is an irony that despite similar ratings, the political fates of the two governments could not be more different."

Add that to the unending list of ironies and contradictions that make up the Kerala model - that is what the sociologically inclined observer would tend to suggest.

A more careful analysis of The Hindu-CNN-IBN poll findings on voter perception of Kerala's development experience would, however, suggest another more plausible explanation. All the indicators used by the pollsters refer to basic social infrastructural development - roads, electricity, water and hospitals. These - in most but the most remote areas of the State - are of fairly decent standards.

It is in the area of industry and business that the State is still found lacking. Thus, what Kerala's voters seem to want are more jobs, and more opportunities for a variety of sources of livelihood for themselves and their families. These, clearly, are unlikely to emerge substantially from social infrastructural projects.

They will be produced only by a dynamic and widespread industrial revolution. Such expectations would thus explain the apparent dichotomy of a thumping yes for a ruling government's development achievements and an equally decisive thumbs-down for its return to power.

Evidently, the prime issue for the Kerala voter in the coming elections is development - interpreted as economic development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com

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