A group of middle-aged women who were waiting for Alathur’s United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate and sitting MP Ramya Haridas at Kanippayur near Kunnamkulam were excited on seeing their “singing” candidate. For a few minutes, they were oblivious of the sweltering sun. Ms. Haridas jumped out of her campaign vehicle and dashed towards the women. She tried to touch them all, both physically and psychologically, with her characteristic smile and affableness.
Seeking their votes, Ms. Haridas reiterated the necessity of unseating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre. More than listening to her speak, the women were excited to hear her sing a few lines. And Ms. Haridas, in spite of some soreness in throat, was more than happy to oblige. By singing this time, Ms. Haridas was trying to disprove a propaganda by her opponents that the Congress had banned her from singing.
Ms. Haridas has been approaching the voters uninhibitedly. She even walked into Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and BJP offices. She joined the percussion band at Nenmara-Vallangi temple festival and surprised the crowds.
For the UDF supporters of Alathur, she continued to be their “younger sister” as she was in 2019. Her singing prowess took shifts from Malayalam to Tamil when she approached the voters along the Tamil Nadu border in the eastern belt of Palakkad.
Alathur has four Assembly segments in Palakkad district (Tarur, Chittur, Nenmara and Alathur) and three Assembly segments in Thrissur district (Kunnamkulam, Chelakkara and Wadakkanchery).
Rude shock
But for Ms. Haridas’s adversary K. Radhakrishnan, Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate and current Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes in the State Cabinet, it is revenge time. The CPI(M) has chosen Mr. Radhakrishnan to wrest back Alathur from Ms. Haridas, who had given a rude shock to the party in 2019.
Removing the red garlands placed on his neck by his party workers at different points, Mr. Radhakrishnan spoke to them convincingly about the relevance of the Left in the current elections. “You know how important it is for the Left to win this election. It is time for us to win back the lost glory. It is time to dethrone the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre,” he said in a soft voice.
Representing Chelakkara in the Assembly, Mr. Radhakrishnan is a familiar person to the voters of Alathur. He is humble and approachable, yet the LDF fears the electioneering style of Ms. Haridas.
Thoughtless remarks
At a different corner of Alathur, BJP candidate T.N. Sarasu, a retired government college teacher, displayed a rare professorial chutzpah when she mocked Ms. Haridas. Saying that “any donkey can sing,” Ms. Sarasu rendered a few lines of a Tamil song. The BJP campaign managers were nonplussed at the thoughtless remarks of their candidate.
Ms. Sarasu has chosen to ride on the wings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his guarantees. She has reiterated the Modi guarantees to the voters of Alathur.
