CHENGANNUR: The spirited campaign for the Chengannur bypoll came to a close at 6 pm on Saturday. Party workers of the three major fronts took out massive rallies, making last-ditch efforts to sway voters ahead of the election on Monday.While UDF candidate D Vijayakumar addressed party workers at Bethel Junction, LDF candidate Saji Cheriyan and NDA’s P Sreedharan Pillai held rallies at Nandavanam Junction and Vellavoor Junction, respectively.
Traffic came to a halt on the Pandalam-Tiruvalla stretch of MC Road from 3 pm as party workers and campaign vehicles flooded the streets. Traffic between Mulakkuzha and Kallissery was diverted through Mangalam bridge.With the official campaign over, party workers will be engaged in silent and door-to-door canvassing on Sunday.Already buoyed by the Karnataka election result, the UDF received a shot in the arm as the K M Mani-led Kerala Congress (M) announced its support for Vijayakumar.
The high-voltage election campaign was punctuated by the death of Sabarimala senior tantri Kandararu Maheswararu and the appointment of state BJP chief Kummanam Rajasekharan as the governor of Mizoram.All major parties approached community/religious leaders in a bid to win every possible vote for their candidates.
Among the star campaigners were Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and veteran leader V S Achuthanandan for the LDF; senior leaders A K Antony, Ramesh Chennithala, Oommen Chandy and M M Hassan for the UDF; and Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam and Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb for the NDA.The Aam Aadmi Party is testing the waters in the Assembly polls for the first time by fielding Rajeev Pallathu.The polling for the Chengannur bypoll will be held on Monday from 7 am to 5 pm and the counting will be held on Thursday.