“As a journalist, I have always adopted an unbiased stance and by side-stepping into party politics, have in no way brought indignity to the scribe’s profession,” reiterates MV Nikesh Kumar -former MD of Reporter TV (a Malayalam News channel) and the LDF candidate from Azhikode in the assembly elections due to be held on May 16 in Kerala.
Nikesh Kumar was the founding editor-in-chief of India Vision, Kerala's first twenty four hour news channel. His father MV Raghavan was a communist who had moved away from the CPI(M) and had been in an intense battle with the party.
While announcing his candidature, Nikesh had maintained that politics was not alien to him and journalism was a sort of political work for him.
When asked how a journalist can call himself a political worker, Nikesh said,”Journalism was a sort of political work for me. I was unable to be part of party politics as I had some differences. So my political work was through journalism.”
In Nikesh’s opinion, party politics and political work are two different things. As a journalist, he believes it is political work that he did. And he chose to do so because of his disagreement with party politics. “What I did was political work as a journalist in a democracy like India,” says Nikesh.
He goes on to add that politics and party politics are two sides of the same coin.
When asked why people should not judge his work through the years and ascribe motives to his exposes on various politicians, he said that he had taken on all Kerala governments, lead by UDF and LDF.
He elaborates: “Since the last 20 years as a media-person, I have always indulged in impartial journalistic interventions and have never ever taken an opposing stance in any instance. It was the same even at the time of the LDF rule. And it is a fact that in the past five years, majority of the issues taken up by the LDF were either raised by me or were ones in which I intervened. Unfortunately, this is the most corrupt government that Kerala has ever seen. So I do not need to regret it, on that account too.”
Nikesh had been active in student politics too. When his father –veteran communist and known orator, the late MV Raghavan- was thrown out of the CPI(M), Nikesh had to by force stay out of politics at that time.
“Now returning to party politics, I don’t feel as if I have landed in some new place. Ordinarily, for a journalist, it’s not all that cumbersome to transit to party politics. I didn’t find it at all difficult,” Nikesh feels.
Why CPI(M)?
Nikesh's candidature had snowballed into a huge controversy due to the strained relation between his late father and the CPI (M). In many occasions, the CPI(M) has been accused of physical violence against MV Raghavan and his supporters.
Nikesh justified his decision to contest under CPI(M) symbol saying that was the party close to his ideologies. He added that during his final days, his father had made peace with the CPI(M).
The battle in Azhikode
“I view the electoral battle in Azhikode seriously. The LDF received more than 9000 votes in the panchayat elections. Just like in the past, the aim is to increase the number of votes. Azhikode happens to be my home constituency. I am aware of each and every move here. My first priority would be the Azhikal port and the next -the handloom sector. Azhikal port was my father’s dream. Nothing was done for the port in the past five years. The handloom sector too will be focused on. My father was a weaver. Tourism is another sector of focus.”
Chandy most corrupt
Nikesh also added that the UDF government in power was the most corrupt govt Kerala has seen.
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