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.