Navakerala Sadas, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s month-long outreach programme commencing in Kasaragod on Saturday, will aim to regain the ruling coalition’s political mojo ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has decided to boycott the event.
Supported both by the State government and the Left coalition machinery, the Navakerala Sadas will cover all 140 Assembly constituencies. A specially designed luxury bus has been arranged for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his Cabinet colleagues, and top bureaucrats, including Chief Secretary V. Venu, to travel across the State for the event. The programme’s objective is to bring governance to the grassroots and enhance mass contact which the CPI(M) leadership has been seeking from the State government.
Some parallels have been drawn to the mass contact programme led by the late Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who aimed at cutting the Gordian knot of red tape to engage directly with the people and resolve their grievances in each district.
