In the Malayalam movie Midhunam, Nedumudi Venu plays a swamy summoned to identify who among a group of relatives has performed black magic on Jagathy Sreekumar. The atmosphere is tense as the swamy prepares to crack a special coconut. But first comes the chilling warning: the moment he cracks it, the culprit’s head will explode. Knowing perfectly well that nothing will happen, the swamy keeps building the suspense and delaying the inevitable. An increasingly impatient Jagathy, who hired him, finally snaps: “Swamy, crack the coconut!”
Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan and his ministers are now before a much larger jury — the people of the state — who are becoming increasingly impatient to see how effectively the new government is actually working.
Satheesan appears to be preparing for something spectacular. The people, meanwhile, are waiting for the promised grand performance.
But when neither the spectacular action nor the grand performance arrives on time, can you hear Keralam’s collective inner voice? “Swamy, crack the coconut!”
It has been 100 days since the change of government. Yet there is a growing feeling that not much is happening. Disappointment is beginning to take hold, and it is increasingly cutting across political lines.
Just three months ago, the voter dethroned Pinarayi Vijayan and installed Satheesan. The very people who voted for that change are beginning to wonder whether anything has really changed.
It is not that nothing is being done. The feeling is that what is being done is simply not enough.
Keralam was not the only state to see a change of government in the recent Assembly elections. West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry went to the polls at the same time.
Except in Puducherry, the results elsewhere brought major political upsets. Riding the anti-incumbency wave were three ‘smart boys’ — all new faces in power.
Now the people are trying to decide: which of the three is the smartest? Each has a distinct political agenda. In West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari crossed the 100-day mark amid his share of controversies. In Keralam, V D Satheesan has also found it difficult to get through the opening months without controversy — perhaps because Malayalis have an extra measure of scepticism built into their DNA.
And then there is Joseph Vijay. Despite being the only one whose previous profession was cinema, Vijay appears to have outperformed the other two in the first 100 days.
A series of measures aimed at farmers, young people and women have already come from Tamil Nadu.
There are the populist measures: farm loan waivers, 150 days of employment under the rural job guarantee programme and a one-gram gold ring for babies born in government hospitals.
Then there are measures on the other side of the ledger: shutting liquor shops near schools and action by the state’s anti-drug task force.
More importantly, the ‘film star’ Vijay appears to have a longer-term vision of making Tamil Nadu more investment-friendly and strengthening its position as one of India’s leading industrial and business hubs.
Within the first 100 days, Tamil Nadu has reportedly secured investment commitments worth ₹1 lakh-crore.
For a state seeking to compete with — or move ahead of — industrial powerhouses such as Gujarat and Maharashtra, that is a useful addition to its armoury.
The government is also trying to tap the investment potential of Tamilians living abroad, with a dedicated investment facilitation mechanism and efforts to cut red tape.
In West Bengal, the white and blue that came to symbolise the Mamata Banerjee years is gradually giving way to saffron in public spaces. Schools and madrasas are seeing political exercises such as compulsory Vande Mataram in school assemblies.
Amid such BJP-style political moves, however, there are also development initiatives. A ₹4,000-crore steel plant project and measures to revive tea estates are among them. The state is also moving towards a single-window clearance system for investments above ₹100 crore.
Politics apart, there is at least an attempt to send a message that business cannot be kept waiting indefinitely.
The UDF has a clear and decisive mandate in Keralam — strong enough to take major decisions and leave little room for political uncertainty. The Opposition is isolated, and the Chief Minister can take pride in having a large majority behind him.
And yet, the new government seems to be taking an awfully long time to get organised. There is hesitation about making a bold start. A certain nervousness about taking the first big steps is visible.
It is not merely a question of financial constraints or the mistakes inherited from the previous government. Measures such as the aggressive campaign against drugs and free travel for women on ordinary KSRTC buses are not insignificant.
But when the Chief Minister talks about Tata’s shipbuilding facility, or explains why he flew to Kochi by helicopter to meet an industrialist, people are unlikely to mistake such episodes for the beginning of a development revolution.
The questions inevitably follow.
If Tamil Nadu can actively pursue investments from its diaspora, why cannot Keralam do the same when it has such a large and prosperous expatriate community? If other states can move quickly to attract investment, why does Keralam still appear to be stuck somewhere between intention and execution?
Words alone are going to become less entertaining.
The Chief Minister and his ministers are now before a jury that is becoming increasingly adept at measuring how effectively the new government is working for Keralam and for itself.
This jury has little patience for explanations about limitations. The usual administrative patchwork will not impress it. Nor will political numbers designed merely to keep religious or community groups happy. What it wants is action.
And if that action does not come, the people may begin to sound like Jagathy in that Midhunam scene, urging a hesitant swamy to crack the ceremonial coconut.
“Come on, swami. Crack the coconut!”
The coconut, after all, is still waiting.
(The author is associate editor of Dhanam Online--Malayalam.)
