THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Stepping up its campaign in Nemom assembly segment, the BJP conducted a huge protest meet in front of the office of sitting MLA and minister V Sivankutty alleging that he has been a failure as an elected representative of the constituency.
The protest meet was inaugurated by BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar who is tipped to be the candidate from Nemom. Chandrasekhar alleged that it was “all promises and no development” in Nemom for the past five years.
Citing numerous examples, Chandrasekhar said the government ayurveda hospital in the constituency could not be made fully functional during Sivankutty’s tenure.
“The MLA turned a blind eye to the plight of those who lost their homes owing to sea erosion. The work on the registration complex in Nemom which began in 2018 is still hanging fire,” he said. Chandrasekhar alleged that Sivankutty was trying to inaugurate the incomplete complex with an eye on the upcoming assembly election.
The BJP leader said no work to improve basic infrastructure facilities of the Thiruvallam temple has been carried out during the five years of LDF rule. The much-talked about Attukal township project is still lying on paper. “These are some of the examples of stalled development in the constituency,” he said.
As part of the protest, a “chargesheet” against Sivankutty that was prepared by BJP workers at the booth level was released on the occasion. The chargesheet listing out the lack of development in the constituency was prepared after obtaining the signatures of local people.
Deputy Mayor Asha Nath G S and BJP leader from Nemom Pappanamcode Saji handed over the “chargesheet” to Chandrasekhar on the occasion. BJP state general secretary S Suresh, state vice-president K Soman, BJP Thiruvananthapuram city president Karamana Jayan, councillors from the constituency and party leaders attended the protest.
BJP vs CPM battle in Nemom
After the constituency took its present form in 2011, CPM’s V Sivankutty won the seat even though BJP veteran O Rajagopal increased the party’s vote share nearly fivefold. In the next assembly election in 2016, Rajagopal defeated Sivankutty in Nemom to become the BJP’s first MLA in Kerala.
The seat returned to the Left in 2021 when Sivankutty defeated BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan by 3,949 votes. The entry of UDF candidate K Muraleedharan made the contest triangular and weakened the BJP’s attempt to frame Nemom as a direct contest with the Left.
While the candidature of Chandrasekhar and Sivankutty is more or less certain, the Congress camp is yet to finalise its candidate in the fully urban assembly segment, that only has corporation wards under it.