Brahmins and Sinners


how it behaved, the Congress could never even hope to emerge as a worth- while challenger. The belief was that the decline of the Congress would be a continuous and accelerating process. This was coupled with the belief that the lack of solidarity among the constituents of the United Front would be more than compensated for by wrang- lings within the Congress as also between the Congress and the Kerala Congress. Consequently the necessary effort was not made to close ranks nor to campaign with full vigour. It came as a surprise to many of the leaders of the United Front when about 75 per cent of the electorate went to the polls. The campaign, in general, had been dull with a poor turnout for meetings and the like.