In Kerala, it's not the BJP, but the Congress that's backing Adani

Billionaire businessman Gautam Adani has been the easy target that the Congress picks on when it wants to hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s corporate friendliness and alleged proclivity to cronyism. The party called him crony capitalist when the State Bank of India gave Adani a loan of $1 billion last year, and India’s foreign minister last month for his being a regular fixture on Modi’s overseas tours. A few days ago, the Congress also alleged that Adani’s company was illegally mining coal in BJP-ruled Rajasthan. In fact, the Congress misses no opportunity to use him for its proxy attacks on Modi and the BJP. [caption id=“attachment_2282886” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Businessman Gautam Adani. Reuters[/caption] But in Kerala, the party is Adani’s strongest defendant with Chief Minister Oomen Chandy donning the twin-role of his flag-bearer and cheer-leader. He and his government want Adani to invest in a greenfield sea port at Vizhinjam, in southern Kerala, that has been jinxed for years while the opposition wants to stop him at any costs. CPM leaders such as VS Achuthanandan, former secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and Member of Parliament  MA Baby have said that the state was giving away precious land to Adani in the guise of port development. They also alleged that Chandy had held secret negotiations with Adani and that the port project was a Rs 6000 crore scam. In response, Chandy said his government will implement the project at any cost. According to him, if he fails to do it now, it will never happy because all that he has at hand is a single bidder called Adani and nobody else. Therefore, whether he or his party high command likes Adani or not, he has no choice but to kickstart the Rs 7525 crore project before the next assembly election that’s due in less than a year. In fact, Chandy needs Adani more than Adani needs him. This will be the biggest infrastructure project, that too long delayed, during Chandy’s regime. The last big project in the state, the Rs 5000 crore Kochi Smart City, came during the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule although the initial steps had been taken during the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) regime. It’s such an absurd situation that the Congress in the state has to bat for Adani. The reason for Chandy’s dilemma is that he is the only eligible bidder who has shown serious interest in the project. Although a few others had shown up in the pre-bidding and bidding stages, finally it was only him who was in the fray. The opposition wanted the government to go in for re-tender, which the latter refused because it has been done twice. Any delay, the government thought, will kill the project. What also makes Chandy insecure, and Adani a precious catch, is the carrot dangled by neighbouring Tamil Nadu and the active encouragement by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to jump ship. Tamil Nadu is keen to develop the port at Kolachal in its western coast, which is not too far away from Vizhinjam and wants Adani to invest. Given its political atmosphere, Tamil Nadu can move things much faster than Kerala and if Chandy loses this opportunity, as Gadkari has warned, the project may leave the Kerala shore. Once Kolachal establishes itself, Vizhinjam will be history. The only advantage Kerala has now are the preparatory work over the last few years, including land acquisition, various studies and mandatory clearances. The Centre has even promised easing the “Cabotage” law, which will allow the port operator to use international ships between Indian ports. If the project takes off, Chandy can claim to have broken the deadlock that plagues development projects in Kerala, where everything gets mired in controversies even before the ideation stage. The port project - which claims several strategic advantages such as its proximity to the international shipping line, unique location (accessible to both eastern and western coasts), and the natural seawater depth of 24 m, which will allow for operation of the largest container ships - was originally conceived more than two decades ago. Successive governments, including the last LDF, tried to take it off the ground, but failed and he is the closest to a start. Two rounds of previous tendering based on a PPP model failed and the present landlord model, in which the state has to make an investment, was advised by the International Finance Corporation during the LDF rule. Besides the CPM, there are also others also who want Adani out because the deal is skewed in his favour. But Chandy and the Congress are unfazed. The summary of the story is not about Vizhinjam port or how it will help Kerala’s economy, but how Adani has become a household name in the state and how the Congress became his biggest defender.