Never, in all my involvement in politics, have I witnessed an election campaign so full of inanity, vacuousness, gutter rhetoric and seething animosity as this by-election of Chaguanas West.The speakers of both the UNC and ILP are guilty of the descent into this political free-for-all but moreso, the spokesmen/women for the UNC led by its political leader who is not only the Prime Minister of the country but the first female Prime Minister.
One would have thought that there would have been a feminine touch of restraint, decorum and dignity. In the process she has squandered a great deal of her credibility and lost face.There appears to be desperation in both camps but on the UNC platform it is palpable and all-consuming. As I noted previously, the UNC would largely rely on open and coded appeals to ethnic loyalty for its survival. This is now being amply demonstrated in the speeches of Kamla, Anand and Roodal.
In addition, since Chaguanas West is a constituency predominantly populated by Hindus, the appeal to Hindu sentiment is forthright and unequivocal.Hence, there is a surfeit of prayers, piety and prostration at the feet of those deemed to be vested with influence over Hindus.But how the non-Hindu population both inside and outside of Chaguanas West will view these antics should be of concern to the UNC. Kamla may win the by-election but it would be a pyrrhic victory.
In the aftermath, it would be difficult to portray the Partnership as a coalition with national appeal across ethnic and religious boundaries.Whatever the outcome, there is an ominous portent in its train for Kamla and the UNC, more so with the solidification of support for the ILP.
Trevor Sudama
San Fernando