Around 1,500 men, women and children who prayed at an Id-gah at the historic Fort Maidan in Palakkad on Wednesday morning had a surprise guest. United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate and sitting MP V.K. Sreekandan reached the Id-gah around 7.15 a.m. and waited for them to finish their prayers. As soon as they were done, Mr. Sreekandan approached them extending his Id greetings.
Warmth and bonhomie were palpable as Mr. Sreekandan went about meeting each one of them. Id Mubarak, he told them in a conventional greeting. Interestingly, he never asked any of them to vote for him. But it was apparent that the MP was there as part of his electioneering campaign. And as usual, many gathered around him for selfies.
Mr. Sreekandan’s campaign has been temperate so far largely because of the exceptional summer heat of Palakakd. So have been that of his rival candidates — Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Polit Bureau member A. Vijayaraghavan, and BJP State general secretary and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate C. Krishnakumar.
The electoral battle in Palakkad is almost triangular. None of them is taking on the other personally, but their political ideologies and parties are not spared. “There’s nothing personal between us. We respect each other,” said Mr. Sreekandan even while raising a barrage of criticisms against the LDF government in Kerala and the BJP government at the Centre.
‘Vote Modi out’
“The Centre cannot wash its hands of the pogrom that took place in Manipur. The democracy and the very Constitution of India are in danger. The Modi government should be voted out if you want to salvage the country and its glory,” said Mr. Sreekandan addressing a rally at Pudussery, adding that the LDF government had destroyed Kerala like never before.
Meanwhile, at Kizhoor, near Shoranur, Mr. Vijayaraghavan was leading a zestful campaign to wrest back the Palakkad seat. Figures such as that of the Assembly results are in his favour. The LDF camp is upbeat with former MP N.N. Krishnadas devising the campaign strategies.
Yet Mr. Vijayaraghavan looked extra cautious and often took recourse to theoretical abstractness when he spoke. Maybe he is constantly reminded of his overzealous sexist remarks against Congress candidate in Alathur Ramya Haridas that he made in during the 2019 election, which are also believed to have aided her victory.
Decisive election
“If you give one more chance to Mr. Modi, there can be no more elections. So big is the threat democracy and secularism in India are facing that this ballot is decisive. But, at the same time, you should understand the inherently defective nature of the Congress,” said Mr. Vijayaraghavan.
The BJP candidate, meanwhile, was at Thachampara addressing a gathering. “The sure bet we offer is a continuation of developmental rule by Narendra Modi. I shall strive to give a boost to the health sector by bringing in an All India Institute of Medical Sciences branch in Palakkad, and introduce a package for the agriculture sector,” said Mr. Krishnakumar.
When Mr. Krishnakumar reiterated the guarantees being made by Mr. Modi, Mr. Sreekandan and Mr. Vijayaraghavan were at their best to attack the BJP at the Centre. However, Mr. Sreekandan and Mr. Krishnakumar were in the same league in attacking the State government.
