Amidst expectations of a high-octane battle, electioneering at Puthuppally is failing to pick up momentum even a day after the announcement of the date of the byelection.
While the political coalitions are wasting no time to establish the contours of the fight through an exchange of statements, the delay in choosing the line-up eclipsed political action on the ground on Wednesday. Even the United Democratic Front (UDF), which announced the candidature of Chandy Oommen within hours after the declaration of the bypoll on September 5, made a rather slow start to its campaign.
Following in the footsteps of his late father Oommen Chandy, Mr. Oommen launched his campaign by offering prayers at St. George Orthodox Church at Puthuppally early in the day. He used the day hours mostly to reach out to different personalities with whom his father had maintained a close relationship, while also attending a couple of funerals.
