Left and Congress, two JNU students invoke Kanhaiya in Kerala

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The emergence of Kanhaiya Kumar from the JNU controversy has given instant prominence to Mohsin, a CPI candidate. “The JNU events caught the attention of the entire country, so obviously my candidature has caught the attention of the national media. It helps me in my campaign too,” said Mohsin, 30, sitting in the LDF election committee office in Pattambi. “People come to me to talk about JNU and appreciate its students.”

He said his candidature, in fact, had been under consideration for some time. Vice-president of the CPI student wing AISF in JNU, he is a student in its School of Social Science.

His JNU friends and activists of the SFI and the DYFI, student and youth wings of the CPM, are part of his team on the ground against the UDF’s C P Mohammad, the sitting MLA. Possibly bothered by the publicity around Mohsin, Mohammad has had banners and posters put up picturing him reading a book by M N Vijayan, leftist scholar and orator. “Mohammad has done some good work in the constituency but Mohsin is a fresh face and the youth are keen on him,” said Rasheed, who works in a restaurant in Pattambi. He agreed he is impressed with the fact that Mohsin is close to Kanhaiya.

Kanhaiya’s name has often figured in the speeches of CPM veteran V S Achuthanandan to “warn voters against the divisive politics of the BJP”. Kanhaiya will campaign for Mohsin on May 12. Other JNU student leaders including Aparajita Raja, AISF national president Syed Valiyullah Qadri and secretary Bishwajith, too, are scheduled to campaign for Mohsin.

Mohsin said the current battle in Kerala is to protect democracy itself. “Politics of hate and politics of destruction are spreading all over India with the support of the state, the central government, some of its members and even ministers. It’s a critical situation for all Indians to protect our democracy,” Mohsin said.

The day Kanhaiya campaigns for Mohsin, Rahul Gandhi is expected to address a rally for John in Angamaly. Rahul’s visit to the JNU campus during the students’ protests against Kanhaiya’s arrest had earned him criticism for “siding with anti-nationals”. This had led to talk of new alignments in national politics — the Left and Congress have teamed up in West Bengal, though not in Kerala.

Roji, chief of the Congress student wing NSUI, said his JNU background has helped a lot. “Our interventions in Hyderabad Central University following Rohith Vemula’s death and in JNU during the controversy have been noticed,” he said. “So it helped me reach out to people initially. Unlike in many other parts of the country, people in Kerala have reacted to the JNU events very positively. The media in Kerala was reporting the developments accurately and the public in general was with the JNU students.”

Yet, John stressed, “an educational qualification is not a must for a candidate; he or she should be able to take up people’s issues and convince people that work will be done for the constituency”.

For all John’s assertions identifying with Kanhaiya’s cause, Mohsin said he had to face bitter attacks from the Congress on account of what happened in JNU. Mohsin alleged it is the Congress in Kerala that has helped the BJP emerge as a force.

“The BJP cannot emerge in Kerala on its own. Only if the Congress supports it can the BJP gain a backdoor entry and spread in Kerala,” Mohsin said. “Look at the campaign against me. They say in public meetings that this person who is contesting the election had celebrated Afzal Guru — the same language the BJP speaks in.”

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