It was a cloudy afternoon and the sitting MLA of Aranmula, K. Sivadasan Nair, alighted from his SUV. Waving at the villagers, assembled at the Valyayanti junction on the Ring Road in Pathanamthitta, the MLA trotted towards the nearby waiting shed, braving a summer drizzle. The crowd greeted him with cotton shawls and garlands. The District Congress Committee vice-president and former municipal chairman A. Sureshkumar handed over the mike to the MLA.
“You are my strength and I am sure you will stand by me in the ensuing election,” Mr. Nair said amid loud applause. Mr. Nair said he was seeking a second term from Aranmula to complete various projects he had initiated.
The MLA told The Hindu that he was confident of improving his margin of victory this time.
The Left Democratic Front candidate, Veena George, is no new face to the people of Aranmula, especially television viewers.
The open jeep carrying the candidate waded through the roads to an exciting reception at Pramadom. ‘Lal Salam’ slogans rent the air and Ms. George affectionately hugged the children who came forward to garland her.
Ms. George said, “Treat me as your own sister, daughter and friend. Once I am elected, we will sit together and chalk out our constituency’s development agenda, based on our immediate requirements.” A confident Ms. George told The Hindu that the people of Aranmula have already taken her to their heart.
BJP candidate M.T. Ramesh is known for his rhetoric political speech and the party machinery was busy preparing for his constituency tour in Elanthoor village on Thursday morning. As many as 100 motorcycles carrying Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh volunteers were to join the candidate’s motorcade.
The meeting at Elanthoor junction began with the BJP-Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders addressing the gathering. The candidate, in white dhothi and shirt, ascended the platform and the crowd greeted him with ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans.
Mr. Ramesh focussed his speech mainly on the achievements of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre over the past two years. He said Kerala badly needed a change of guard, adding that the people had already made up their mind to give a thumping mandate to the National Democratic Alliance in Kerala too, this time.
Mr. Ramesh, who was instrumental for the manifold increase in the vote share of BJP in Pathanamthitta to a whopping 1,40,000 in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, said he was confident of a win in the Assembly polls.
