Counting of votes: It’s the day of reckoning for front captains

Thiruvananthapuram: The verdict the people of the state would read out on Thursday is crucial to the captains of all the three fronts - incumbent chief minister Oommen Chandy, CPM PB member Pinarayi Vijayan and BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan - as their political future hinges on it.
Nothing less than a win in Kerala can satiate the survival instincts of CPM, a party which has lost its hold in West Bengal and is unsure of staging a comeback there soon.CPM badly wants to return to power in Kerala so that it can at least keep the flag flying here and in Tripura.
The poll is more crucial for Pinarayi Vijayan than veteran VS Achuthanandan as he is contesting after a break of 20 years. Though VS is in the fray, Vijayan is the choice of state leadership for the CM's post if LDF wins. His failure would be read as a fallout of disconnect with the masses and the CPM central leadership will be compelled to look for fresh faces to lead the party in the state. The CPI, which was kept out of the limelight by the CPM during campaign, will react harshly if the front faces electoral defeat.
The performance of the Congress assumes national significance as the AICC views this as an opportunity to launch an all-out campaign against the Modi government. Since the party has toned down their hopes in Assam and Bengal and are out of the picture in Tamil Nadu, a win here is a must. Despite all odds, the party high command stood with Chandy in the last moment just because it wanted him to win the polls here.
A failure would mean Chandy will have to shoulder the entire responsibility. KPCC president VM Sudheeran who rang alarm bells during candidate selection would use the opportunity to cleanse the party unit.
The BJP-led NDA, which initially made claims of cornering 71 plus seats, had narrowed down its estimate to less than 10 seats. But, any failure to win a seat this time too would prove detrimental to party's interests in the state.
The selection of Kummanam Rajasekharan as the state president and the formation of BDJS were the two gambles which the BJP central leadership had taken ahead of the polls. Thursday's verdict will tell them whether they have paid off or not. The responsibility for failure will naturally have to be shared between Kummanam and BDJS patron Vellappally Natesan as the state's BJP old guard was apprehensive of both the plans.