With days left for voting for the Aruvikkara by-election, political parties have raised the campaign pitch to drum up support for their candidates by organising roadshows and roadside meetings, and making house visits.
Candidates and their party cadre are pulling out all the stops to reach every nook and corner of the constituency to meet the maximum number of voters before campaigning for the by-poll ends on Thursday evening.
Supporters of the United Democratic Front (UDF), the Left Democratic Front (LDF), and the Bharatiya Janata Party from outside the constituency and from other districts have reached Aruvikkara and are camping there to give a final push to the electioneering for their respective candidates.
Like in the past few days, UDF candidate K.S. Sabarinadhan on Monday conducted a whirlwind tour of the constituency seeking votes to complete the development works launched by his father the former Speaker G. Karthikeyan. During his roadshows, he reminded voters of the works started by his father and said the projects would get derailed if a non-UDF candidate won the election.
The UDF campaign will get further fillip in the next two days with former Defence Minister A.K. Antony and All India Congress Committee general secretary Mukul Wasnik set to join the campaign trail.
The day was hectic for LDF candidate M. Vijayakumar who took out roadshows to remote corners of the constituency, seeking votes for ‘change.’ Mr. Vijayakumar stressed the need to “free the State from scam-tainted UDF,” and how his electoral victory would ensure change in the coming Assembly elections. Former Minister K.R. Gouri too joined the campaign fray, seeking votes for Mr. Vijayakumar.
The party will field cine actor and Member of Parliament Innocent on Tuesday to garner votes for its candidate.
BJP candidate O. Rajagopal, however, throughout the day metsmall groups, particularly plantation workers, to shore up support for his candidature. He tried to draw the attention of the voters to the ‘humble background’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and welfare measures such as Jan Dhan Yojana, the financial inclusion programme launched by the National Democratic Alliance government in the past one year. The day also saw party spokesperson Vijay Sonkar Shastri, a Backward Caste leader, touring the tribal hamlets. The BJP’s poll campaign will gather fresh momentum on Tuesday with cine actor Suresh Gopi taking out a roadshow in eight panchayats that come under the constituency.
