Kerala's 'bandh', student protests are more about finding an issue to win next elections

The strikes and student protests turning violent are back on the streets and campuses in Kerala on matters real and often far removed from reality. Such outbursts have been quite rare in the last nine years of the LDF government, even taking into account the period during the Covid lockdowns.

The interesting aspect of this new burst of agitation has the backing of the CPM, the party in power, and its student wing SFI. So, you had a situation where a ‘Bharat Bandh’ was properly enforced in Kerala and more or less ignored in the rest of India.

For those not in the know, a ‘bandh’ is the shutdown of all social and economic activity for a day. The unkind critics often say it is more about the jobless stopping those who work from doing so. In effect, a forced day off…   

But the real significance of the new strikes lies in something that’s further down the line – this is the ‘real’ start of preparing for the next Kerala state elections due by May 2026. And as usual, when it comes to elections and election campaigns, finding an emotive issue that resonates with voters is how elections are won and lost.

Do calling strikes really matter anymore, even in a highly politicised state such as Kerala? The response beyond the party’s faithful has been one of indifference, though, of course, stores and businesses remained shut through the day. And those who could not go for work enjoyed the forced break.

The only notable strike action in India in recent years was the one by farmers in 2020-21, when they barricaded themselves on the streets and grounds of Delhi itself. Their protests were against three legislative acts passed by the Parliament – it was a bitter campaign and would end only after the government scrapped the laws. Raw emotions and anger were visible during the long months of protests, with farmers unwilling to budge when it give-and-take deals were mooted.  

This week’s Kerala bandh had no such emotive element connecting it. The very next day, things went back to normal. Just as it was always supposed to be. It’s the student protests, however, that did see the threat of violence – but thankfully ended up being stage managed for the better part. It helped that the police did not take matters into their own hands…

So, will there be more agitprop action through the weeks and months leading up to next year’s election? Or have the majority of Kerala voters already decided which way to go in casting their choice? Or will there be that any one event that could change political equations and decisions?

But one thing is for sure, that one decisive event will not be the recent ‘Bharat Bandh’. That was more the big yawn…