Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: IND34491 Country: India Date: 4 March 2009 Keywords: India – IND34491 – 2004 elections in Kerala – district general secretary – Kasaragod district This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. Which party or coalition won the elections in Kerala in 2004? And which party or coalition is currently in power in Kerala? Where possible please provide information on the area of Kasaragod. 2. Where in the structure of the INC is the position of district general secretary situated? 3. Please provide information on Congress in Kasaragod including political violence. 4. Deleted. RESPONSE 1. Which party or coalition won the elections in Kerala in 2004? And which party or coalition is currently in power in Kerala? Where possible please provide information on the area of Kasaragod. 2004 national elections in Kerala May 2004 saw the completion of national election polls in Kerala. The 2004 national election ended as a victory for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), a coalition of parties led by the Indian National Congress (INC). While the INC polled well in many of India’s states it did poorly in Kerala where it failed to win a single seat. The poor showing of the INC was read by some commentators as a vote against the performance of the INC at the state level (at the time the INC controlled the Kerala state government). Most of the vote in Kerala in 2004 went to the Communist Party of India–Marxist (CPI-M) who, at that time, were in opposition in Kerala state politics as the leading party of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) coalition (one seat went to the Indian Federal Democratic Party (IFDP), and ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition). While the INC and the CPI- M were thus competitors at the level of state politics and in the national polling process itself, the CPI-M candidates elected to the national legislature in 2004 would, in the post election 1 alliance formation bargains, go on to give their support to the INC led UPA coalition in the national legislature. This partnership ended in June 2008 when the CPI-M, along with four other left wing parties, withdrew support from the INC led UPA over the terms of a nuclear energy deal being negotiated with the United States (for information on the 2004 polling results in Kerala, see: Krishnakumar, R. 2004, ‘A red-wash in the South’, Frontline, vol.21: no.11, 22 May http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2111/stories/20040604006302600.htm – Accessed 3 March 2009 – Attachment 1; and: Kumar, G.G. 2004, ‘Kerala bucks the national trend, once again’, The Hindu, 20 May http://www.hinduonnet.com/elections2004/verdict2004/stories/2004052000230300.htm – Accessed 3 March 2009 – Attachment 2; for an overview of Kerala’s LDF and UDF coalitions and their various relationships with national political coalitions, see: Iype, G. 2006, ‘Kerala’s political jigsaw, unravelled’, Rediff.com, 10 April http://www.rediff.com/election/2006/apr/10pkerala.htm – Accessed 20 October 2008 – Attachment 3; for the recent withdrawal of the CPI-M from the UPA over the nuclear deal, see: ‘Left pulls out, will meet President Patil on Wednesday’ 2008, Express India, 8 July http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Left-pulls-out-will-meet-President-Patil-on- Wednesday/332876/ – Accessed 20 October 2008 – Attachment 4). The seat of Kasaragod reportedly went to a CPI-M candidate, P. Karunakaran. The INC candidate, N.A. Mohammed, finished third in the Kasaragod poll (see: ‘Historic win for Left; Congress draws blank’ 2004, The Hindu, 14 May http://www.hindu.com/2004/05/14/stories/2004051406690700.htm – Accessed 4 March 2009 – Attachment 5; ‘Kasargod Parliament Constituency’ (undated), Kasaragod District Administration website http://kasargod.nic.in/administration/mp.htm – Accessed 4 March 2009 – Attachment 6). 2004 by-elections in Kerala local politics September 2004 saw by-elections in Kerala state politics including in the area of Kasaragod. According to The Hindu: “The bypoll list included three district panchayat wards. In Punnapra division of Alappuzha district panchayat and Karadukka division of Kasaragod district panchayat, the CPI(M) candidates, P. K. Rathi and A. Chandrasekharan, won by handsome margins of 9,748 votes and 5,403 votes respectively” (‘LDF wins majority of seats in civic bypolls’ 2004, The Hindu, 30 September http://www.hindu.com/2004/09/30/stories/2004093011120400.htm – Accessed 4 March 2009 – Attachment 7). 2006 Kerala state elections Kerala’s most recent state government elections took place in May 2006 and ended as a victory for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) coalition. Led by the Communist Party of India– Marxist (CPI-M) the 2006 LDF coalition also consisted of: “Communist Party of India, Janata Dal-Secular, Kerala Congress-J, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Indian National League, Kerala Congress-S and Congress-S”. The victory of the LDF in May 2006 saw the United Democratic Front (UDF) governing coalition removed from office. Led by the Indian National Congress (INC, or Congress) the 2006 UDF coalition also consisted of: “Kerala Congress (Mani), Janathipathya Samrakshana Samiti, Kerala Congress (B), Communist Marxist Party, Revolutionary Socialist Party (Shibu faction) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (Babu Divakaran faction)”. News reports have noted that the May 2006 state election result continued a trend wherein the Kerala electorate has swung back-and-forth between the LDF and the UDF at successive elections (for an overview of the 2 May 2006 state election results in Kerala, see: ‘Kerala’s political jigsaw, unravelled’ 2006, Rediff website, 10 April http://in.rediff.com/election/2006/apr/10pkerala.htm – Accessed 19 January 2007 – Attachment 30; Muraleedharan, N. 2006, ‘2006: Political conflicts in Kerala’, Rediff.com, 20 December http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/dec/20year.htm – Accessed 6 July 2007 – Attachment 8; Lype, George 2006, ‘Kerala: Where change is static’, Rediff.com, 11 May http://in.rediff.com/election/2006/may/11gi.htm – Accessed 6 July 2007 – Attachment 9; Election Commission of India 2006, Statistical Report on General Election, 2006 to the Legislative Assembly of Kerala, Election Commission of India website http://www.eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_2006/StatReport_KL_2006.pdf – Accessed 20 October 2008 – Attachment 10). 2. Where in the structure of the INC is the position of district general secretary situated? According to the INC constitution local general secretaries hold office within primary committees. “The President shall appoint the General Secretary from amongst the Members of the Executive Committee”. Persons obtain office within the Executive Committee via elections at the primary committee level. Rule Under Article VIII (a) – Primary Committee: 1. A Primary Committee will be the basic unit of the Organisation. 2. A Primary Committee shall, as far as possible, correspond to the area of territory falling under one Polling Booth or Polling Station in the General Elections. 3. All Members of the Primary Committee shall meet at an appointed time and place and elect the President, Vice-President and a Treasurer and the Executive Committee of the Primary Committee. 4. The President of the Primary Committee and the delegates to the Block Congress Committee shall be elected from amongst the Members eligible under Article V (A) (b). Any Member can seek election to the Membership of the Executive Committee. The President shall appoint the General Secretary from amongst the Members of the Executive Committee. 5. The Election of the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Executive Members of the Primary Committee shall be by show of hands (Constitution & Rules of The Indian National Congress (As amended by the AICC meeting at Delhi on 17th November, 2007) & Rules (As approved by the Congress Working Committee at its meeting on 7th November, 2007 & Ratified by the AICC on 17th November, 2007), Indian National Congress website http://www.aicc.org.in/Constitution%20FINAL%2012.6.08.pdf – Accessed 4 March 2009 – Attachment 11). The following further articles from the INC constitutions relate to this issue of party governance at the district level and may be of interest: Article III Constituents The Indian National Congress will include the plenary and special sessions of the Congress and, (i) The All India Congress Committee, (ii) The Working Committee, 3 (iii) Pradesh Congress Committees, (iv) District/City Congress Committees, (v) Committees subordinate to the District Congress Committee like Block or Constituency Congress Committee and other subordinate Committee to be determined by the Pradesh Congress Committee concerned. …Note: In this Constitution wherever the word “Pradesh” occurs, it will include “Territorial”, the word “District” will include “City” as required by the context. …Article V Membership …(iv) Permanent Register of members within their jurisdiction shall be maintained by every Block/Constituency and City/Town Congress Committee with copies to the District Congress Committee, as per prescribed rules; …4. a. The District Congress Committee shall be primarily responsible for the enrolment of members in the district. The PCC shall issue membership forms to the DCCs which in turn shall issue them to the subordinate Congress Committees and through them to individuals. Not more than 1250 membership forms shall be supplied to an individual at a time. However, in the case of MPs, MLAs, MLCs and AICC members and PCC Office-bearers, 2500 membership forms may be supplied to such individuals at a time.