It is not yet noon, but summer heat is picking up at Koolikkunnu village of Velom grama panchayat in the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency on a Thursday morning. Undeterred, scores of women, children, and men are huddled around a makeshift stage, listening to a speech by K.K. Shailaja, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate.
“Your faces reflect our determination to win. Though I wish to meet each voter in the constituency, it is not practically possible. So, I request you to tell the people close to you to vote for me,” she says. Earlier, Ms. Shailaja was welcomed in a procession which had girls dressed up in Mohiniyattam costumes and local artistes playing drums. Children and women, carrying white and red-coloured balloons with Ms. Shailaja’s pictures printed on them, take their seats in front of the stage.
While explaining the importance of the Lok Sabha polls, Ms. Shailaja, Mattannur MLA, claims she will raise the voice of the labourers, women, youth, and farmers in the Parliament. The LDF candidate also highlights her tenure as the Health Minister in the first Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet to point out how she worked among the people and also improved the infrastructure in government hospitals. Criticising the Union government for strangling Kerala’s finances, she also blames United Democratic Front (UDF) MPs for their alleged apathy towards people’s concerns, before moving on to another venue.
