Pinarayi Vijayan’s swearing-in spectacle is illogical and insensitive

After winning a historic second term in Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan is going ahead with his controversial decision to make an event of his swearing-in on May 20. This is happening even as the state, which has witnessed a massive spike in COVID-19 cases following the assembly elections last month, is going through a second week of lockdown this month.

Kerala’s much vaunted public health infrastructure is barely holding up with oxygen beds and ventilators in the government sector fully occupied and, private hospitals getting pressed into service.

The swearing-in ceremony is being held in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, among the four districts in Kerala currently under a triple lockdown, where the common man is not allowed to venture out even for purchase of essential commodities. On May 17, upon the media raising this issue at his presser, the Chief Minister could not logically explain how such an extravagant affair could be justified during the pandemic. Instead, he made it sound as if the participation of 500-odd people at the function was a trivial number. This is in direct contravention of his government’s orders restricting public participation at functions to a maximum of 20 people.

It would seem that Vijayan has lost his sense of good judgement, blindsided by the massive mandate, thus letting down the very people who have re-elected the Left Democratic Front (LDF). There have been suggestions that the swearing-in be conducted virtually, not least by the Indian Medical Association (IMA). A simple function at Raj Bhavan, as it had been done in the past, is another alternative. While there has been a hue and cry over the government defying its own orders, Vijayan seems undeterred.

It is also unclear why Vijayan is taking nearly three weeks to swear in, when he is steering the state through a crucial phase in combating COVID-19. In 2016, it took less than a week for Vijayan and his Cabinet to take oath. The Chief Minister did offer an explanation to this puzzle by declaring that he was waiting for the COVID-19 situation to abate to ensure bigger public participation at his swearing in event. This clarification actually raises questions about what his priorities are while the state is going through a critical second wave.

According to Communist Party of India (Marxist) insiders, the issue of Cabinet formation and allocation of ministries hasn’t been a smooth exercise despite the scale of victory this time around. The biggest decision to make was on the new finance minister, following the side-lining of incumbent Thomas Isaac. As per an alleged pre-poll deal struck between the CPI(M) and the Kerala Congress (Mani), it was agreed upon that the finance portfolio would be handed over to Jose K Mani.

However, despite the decisive mandate in favour of the LDF, Mani ended up losing at his party’s base in Pala. Although the new finance minister in the ensuing scenario would be a toss-up between P Rajeev and KN Balagopal, the duo had been originally pencilled in for education and law ministries, respectively. Moreover, it has been a tough task to evolve a yardstick to let KK Shailaja continue as health minister after going for a complete overhaul, in view of her performance on the job and expertise to tackle the ongoing crisis.

Nevertheless, most people haven’t been able to get their head around this deferment. According to health experts, the government could find itself compelled at any point to take over all the private hospitals in the state if things spiral out of control, and that would require a full-time government at the helm.

Vijayan’s defiance in going ahead with the swearing-in spectacle, despite alternative ways of taking oath as Mamata Banerjee demonstrated in West Bengal, could be the precursor to a more authoritarian second term for the Kannur strongman. The communist character of Vijayan’s first term was also a matter of huge debate with critics dubbing it ‘revisionist’ on many occasions. It is feared that a second term in office could see a Vijayan who is more intolerant to criticism, wielding power with an iron fist.

If these first signs are any indicator, Vijayan is misreading the mandate by behaving like an upstart, when he was expected to show more maturity and hit the ground running. Today, there is no one left in the CPI(M) to tell Vijayan that he is not above the law and there can’t be different laws for the government and the people. Perhaps Vijayan doesn’t realise that being a communist is an article of faith and not just a propaganda tool.