High-pitched Nasik Dhol beats announce the arrival of candidates in the Adoor constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes.
The sitting MLA, Chittayam Gopakumar of the Communist Party of India (CPI), is confident as even his opponents seldom raise any charge of corruption or favouritism against him. The CPI candidate claims to have initiated a series of development projects worth Rs.50 crore in the constituency over the past five years.
Addressing a well-attended meeting in Adoor town during his tour, the MLA said, “I know the special care and love you have extended to me as your very own MLA all these years. I am sure that you will give me yet another chance to serve you so that we together can take Adoor to new heights in terms of development.” Mr. Gopakumar, who is popular in the constituency as ‘Chittayam,’ mingles with people at various corner meetings and other small gatherings with ease.
The Congress candidate, K.K. Shaju, is also hopeful of a smooth sail to the Assembly. The United Democratic Front (UDF) electioneering is a high-pitched one with State leaders aggressively addressing public meetings over the past two weeks to capture its lost fort, which sent Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan to the Assembly four times till he was shifted to Kottayam in 2011.
“The initial rumbles in the Congress over the fielding of Mr. Shaju in Adoor have subsided,” said a party worker, Mathew Thomas. Varghese Perayil, a campaign manager of the UDF candidate, told The Hindu that the political situation was favourable for a clear win for Mr. Shaju.
The electioneering of the young Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader P.Sudheer seems to be the most exciting one. Sangh Parivar volunteers have been going all out to mobilise maximum voter support for their young candidate. “The living condition at many settlement colonies in the constituency is pathetic. We visited all colonies in the constituency and found the people there grossly unhappy with the indifferent attitude of the successive governments towards them,” says Mr. Sudheer. “Uninterrupted drinking water supply and overall development of the constituency, utilising the Central and State funds, will be my immediate priority,” says Mr. Sudheer.
