Even before the Lok Sabha election dates are announced, the rising summer temperature is set to send the mercury up in the political barometer across Kerala, exposing the people and politicians to the vagaries of the climate across the southernmost State on the western coast.
February and the first half of March have been scorching for the most part, with summer rains staying away from the State. Further, the sun is likely to show no mercy on the State at least for the remaining period of this month as per the predictions from the Met office.
More than the commoners on the street, who have already learnt to cope with the rising heat, politicians and campaign managers will really have to sweat out to stay healthy and hydrated while going out to win the hearts of people.
Threshold level
Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are the two States where the temperatures have now almost reached the threshold level. If temperature crosses the 40°C mark in Andhra Pradesh, it is hovering around 39°C in Kerala, where the presence of high humidity in the air pushes the heat index close to 50°C in many places.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the highest temperature of the current season, 39.7 °C, was recorded in Palakkad on March 8. As per the outlook for the seasonal temperature forecast issued by the IMD, the temperature is likely to shoot up in most parts of the State during the second half of March and April, when the Lok Sabha election campaigns will gather momentum.
As per the temperature statistics available with the IMD, Palakkad had recorded the highest temperature of 41.9°C and 41.6°C, respectively, on March 27 and May 1, 2016, the summer season followed after an El Niño year.
With all the constituencies hotting up with political activity ahead of the peak summer, the candidates also started to keep a keen eye on the weather gods.
In Thrissur
In the Thrissur constituency, which witnesses the most spirited triangular fight in the State, poll manager of actor-turned- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician Suresh Gopi said the roadshows of the candidate have been scheduled in the evening hours from 6.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. However, his daily campaign schedule is a hectic one, with the campaign starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m., in between, there was only a two hour break during the noon.
On the other hand, campaign manager of V.S. Sunil Kumar, the Left candidate and former Agriculture Minister, who has completed two rounds of campaigns, said the campaign schedule is fixed between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tweaking the schedule will be considered only after the poll dates are announced, along with taking note of the rising temperature and heat warnings, he said. However, all the candidates prefer a healthy diet suited for summer, especially when they hit the streets on a daily basis for the campaigns.
