Crowd-puller VS is centrepiece of LDF campaign

October 29, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 09:44 am IST - KANNUR:

KANNUR-KERALA 28-10-2015; Leader of the Opposition V.S.Achuthanandan greeting the crowd when he reached Kannur Wednesday  to address an election rally of the Left Democratic Front-PHOTO;S_K_MOHAN.


KANNUR-KERALA 28-10-2015; Leader of the Opposition V.S.Achuthanandan greeting the crowd when he reached Kannur Wednesday to address an election rally of the Left Democratic Front-PHOTO;S_K_MOHAN.


If the crowds that gathered at the election rallies of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in different parts of the district on Wednesday are anything to go by, Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan was the flagship of the LDF campaign in Kannur.

His whirlwind campaign tour in five centres in the district drew a large number of crowds, with party workers and LDF supporters surrounding him when he reached the venues for addressing election rallies. The star campaigner of the LDF received rousing receptions at Alakkode, Taliparamba, Sreekantapuram, Iritty, and Kannur. After he left the venue in each place, the crowds, including women, assembled to see him and hear his address largely dissipated.

“It took nearly seven minutes for Mr. Achuthanandan to reach the stage from his car parked close to it because of the large number of people who surrounded him shouting slogans and taking his photos on mobile phones,” said Roy Thomas, a native of Alakkode. Alakkode, which is not a stronghold of the LDF, has not witnessed such a crowded election campaign in recent times, he added.

Tough time

Press photographers had a tough time taking his photos during his address as his admirers in the audience saw them as a barrier between them and their leader. At Taliparamba, the crowds surrounded him after he left the venue ending his 20-minute speech. The police struggled to escort Mr. Achuthanandan to his vehicle. The gathering of people to hear his address at Sreekantapuram and Iritty, in the eastern hill area of the district, was also huge, according to reports.

Political circles here say that the spontaneous enthusiasm that his election campaign rallies here evoked should be seen as politically noteworthy because of the fact that the veteran leader has no friends among party leaders in this district which is viewed as a bedrock of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). In the 2011 Assembly election, Mr. Achuthanandan had toured different parts here to campaign for candidates including party leader E.P. Jayarajan at Mattannur. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, however, the district had not been in the schedule of his election campaign tour for reasons allegedly linked to his differences with the party leadership over the T.P. Chandrashekharan murder case.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.