Electioneering in Puthuppally has reached a feverish pitch with a galaxy of leaders from all major parties taking out tours across the Assembly constituency.
Unusual to its history, Puthuppally this time is witnessing an unprecedented electoral fight with every coalition having its tallest leader on the ground. After an Onam break, the candidates fielded by the three major coalitions for the Assembly byelection, Chandy Oommen, Jaick C. Thomas and G. Lijin Lal, have embarked on a vehicle tour across the constituency .
Adding to the gusto is the loudspeaker-fitted vehicles that criss-cross the roads, waking up the sleepy and nondescript villages to the battle cry.
Aware that nothing could be taken for granted in a battle of high stakes, the seriousness of the Left Democratic Front’s purpose can be gauged so easily from the campaign blitzkrieg that it has put up this time. After a gap of just one day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited Puthuppally once again on Friday and addressed election conventions at Mattakkara, Pampady and Vakathanam.
Development issues
Rounding off the high-voltage campaign, Mr. Vijayan took potshots at the United Democratic Front for joining hands with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance to block development in Kerala. “A desperate Opposition is now seen joining the BJP publicly on several aspects to destabilise the State,” he said, addressing the convention at Mattakkara.
The UDF, meanwhile, sought to match the rival front with their own campaign blitz, led by veteran Congress leader A.K. Antony, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, K. Muraleedharan, MP, and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K. Sudhakaran. Mr. Antony paid a visit to the tomb of the late Oommen Chandy as well as to his ancestral house.
With just a couple of days left for the electioneering to end, the Congress-led coalition has also diversified the scope of its poll plank to highlight the anti-SilverLine strife at Madappally, which completed 500 days on Friday.
Not to be left behind, the BJP too has brought in its entire State leadership to the constituency, besides national figures such as Rajeev Chandrsekhar, Radha Mohandas Agarwal and Anil K. Antony. Although began on a slow note, the BJP too has aggressively forayed into the campaign front by highlighting the welfare programmes rolled out by the Central government.
Electioneering in the Assembly segment will draw to a close on Sunday with road shows and special rallies by the leading parties.
