Thiruvananthapuram, (Samajweekly) Stunned by the overwhelming public response to the demise of former Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy known as the “man of the masses”, the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala is mulling a comprehensive image makeover of its people’s representatives.
According to sources in the know of things, this issue was discussed at the weekly meeting of the top brass of the CPI(M) last week.
The first to hit the road in a new avatar is none other than Chief Minister Vijayan who will meet the people in his hometown Kannur and hear their grievances. In all likelihood, Vijayan and his close aides might be seen wearing a smile and exuding compassion — USP of Chandy that made him a legend.
Incidentally, Chandy launched his novel Mass Contact Programme in 2004 when he stood for over 18 hours at all the 14 district headquarters hearing complaints from people and left only after he met the last person who came to meet him.
This humane gesture of his immediately catapulted him to fame and then there was no looking back. The programme continued even when he became the Chief Minister in 2011 and won a UN award for it.
At that point of time, the CPI(M) and its leaders ridiculed Chandy by saying that this was something that an ordinary government official could have done, while the Chief Minister focussed on important matters.
A political analyst on condition of anonymity said strange are the ways of the CPI(M). “No ne can ever forget how a Chief Minister stood for 18 hours at a stretch and interacted with people and heard each of them. When Chandy waited for 18 hours to meet the people, the people waited for hours to have one last glimpse of Chandy when his hearse took 38 hours to travel a distance of 158 kms,” said the political analyst and added none should forget that Chandy was only just an MLA for the past seven years and held no post and with Vijayan often with a very stiff exterior and rarely smiling, many related the ever smiling Chandy to that of the rough and tough demeanor of Vijayan,” said the analyst. Meanwhile the CPI-M which has a very strong Cyber wing has also been asked to ensure that utmost care should be given to all posts and pictures that are being put out in the social media and it should invoke empathy. Unlike other political parties, for the CPI-M, a cadre party, it doesn’t require much of an effort to see that the directives from the top reaches all and with the Lok Sabha elections fast approaching.
CPI(M) leaders spotting a broad smile and interacting with the people- a la Oommen Chandy style should not come as a surprise to the public, he quipped.
