Age is a politically irrelevant issue, says VS

Going strong: Huge rallies reflect popularity of my government, claims Kerala chief minister

He is seen as a crusader against corruption, though mainly indulged by his political rivals. At 87, he has no major ailments thanks to a disciplined lifestyle.

The state leadership of the CPM reportedly tried to deny him ticket this time citing his “ill-health” though he had gone on record expressing his desire to contest earlier. The party Politburo promptly intervened to restore his candidature from Malampuzha in Palakkad district. The huge crowd gathering at Achuthanandan’s public meetings in the last two weeks have been presenting anxious moments for the Congress-led UDF. There has been speculation in political circles on a possible “VS factor” having a bearing on the poll outcome.

The Marxist veteran seemed to have toned down his rhetoric and personal attacks off late after his statement against his rival candidate got him into trouble. Achuthanandan spoke exclusively to R Gopakumar of Deccan Herald at his camp house in Palakkad on Saturday afternoon.

Your public meetings have been attracting big crowd and one reason that is being offered for it is your crusade against corruption.   

It’s a fact that people have been crowding to listen to my speeches. This is because they have liked the functioning of the LDF government led by me in the last five years.  The Congress and UDF which ruled five years before had harassed the people very much.

There was continuous strike in industries. They couldn’t solve these issues and establish peace in the industrial sector. Similarly, farmers committed suicide. They couldn’t stop these.

As a result, they were thrown out and the LDF government which came to power took effective measures to resolve the issues of labourers. We were able to bring peace to industries and the farmers’ suicides were also halted.

But the LDF campaign has so far appeared to be just a one-man show with you at the helm?

It is not a one-man show as you say. The Left Democratic Front government is a collective of the chief minister and 19 ministers. Every minister undertakes pro-people welfare measures in their respective ministries and these collectively add up to the government’s image.

Do you think the crowds that we witness will translate to votes?

If the media think that these people come just to see me or listen to me but that they will not vote for me, they are very well within their right to write it. I’m sure that they will realise their mistake and won’t have problems correcting it later.

The UDF has also been targeting your son and your age.

Elderly people are there not just in politics but in social life too. The age keeps going up and we can do nothing about it. Some people will always be disappointed with it. Since they do not have anything else to raise against me, they raise such irrelevant issues.
But there were several allegations against your son. They are not true.

There were reports that you had excused yourself from contesting this time citing your ill-health. I did not say anywhere that I had health problems.

Since you were leading the LDF campaign, it is natural to expect you as the leader of the front after the elections.

We will take care of such things after the elections.