Despite the blistering midday sun beating down, a small but enthusiastic crowd, including elderly women and children, has gathered at Thuruthimel near Chengannur in the Mavelikara Lok Sabha constituency (SC reserved). Some have found refuge under the shade of trees, while others chat outside a grocery store, sheltered by umbrellas.
After waiting for nearly half an hour, the blaring of political messages from loudspeakers mounted on the convoy of Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate C.A. Arunkumar, of the Communist Party of India (CPI), grew louder as it approached Thuruthimel. Then, firecrackers burst, and in no time, the candidate, clad in a shirt and dhoti with a red-coloured scarf wrapped around his neck, arrived in a specially designed open vehicle.
Mr. Arunkumar shakes hands and waves at the people. Outside the grocery store, a microphone is handed over to him. The young man who is determined to wrest the constituency from the United Democratic Front (UDF) by ending the latter’s three victories in a row calls for “a change for the better in Mavelikara” in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. “I was born into an agricultural family. I know the everyday struggles of the common man. If you elect me, I will be with you all the time,” he says in a short speech.
On the other side of the constituency, Kodikunnil Suresh, the UDF candidate and incumbent MP of Mavelikara, is on a whirlwind tour of low-lying Kuttanad. He started his day from Neerattupuram travelling atop a jeep decorated with the Congress party’s symbol and his photos. At Thalavady, he is greeted by some MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers. They raised the issue of late payments and cuts in government schemes. “If the Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance comes to power at the Centre, we will resolve all the issues plaguing the MGNREGA sector,” Mr. Kodikunnil promises them before heading to the next stop.
Eyeing a fourth win
The senior Congress leader who eyes a fourth consecutive victory from Mavelikara hops out of his vehicle seeing a group of people at Kochammanam. He exchanged pleasantries and presented a scarf to an elderly woman. The senior Congress leader asks them to vote for him to ensure “continuity” and “development”. During campaigning in the constituency, which is spread across three districts, he promises to find lasting solutions to issues plaguing the farm sector, including paddy and cashew sectors, and increase the PF pension of cashew workers.
A narrow dilapidated road leads to Kakkodu Colony near Chengannur. There stands a dried-up drinking water well.
National Democratic Alliance candidate Baiju Kalasala of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena is visiting houses at the colony. He seeks votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government’s good works over the past 10 years and promising time-bound solutions to people’s problems. “People are fed up with both the LDF and UDF. They want change. This election will be a game changer,” Mr. Kalasala says.
As the candidate moves to the next stop, Thulasi R., a resident of the colony, says that she has not yet decided who to vote for this election. “Our biggest problem is lack of access to clean drinking water, a basic human right. Elections come and go, but the drinking water issue remains unresolved,” she laments.
