IDUKKI: Eighty-eight-year-old Mariyakutty has made it clear that she will vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming Assembly elections.
The widow, who grabbed headlines for her protest demanding social security pensions in Adimaly and had been a star campaigner for Congress during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The elderly woman now lives in the house Congress had built for her in Adimaly.
“I stayed with Congress, but their workers ignored me at big events. Joining BJP was the only practical choice. So far, they’ve only helped me—they haven’t made my life harder,” she told the TNIE.
On Kerala’s politics, Mariyakutty said, “We’ve seen Congress and the Communists rule, and neither really helped ordinary people. Maybe the BJP will try something different this time.”
About the recent pension hike, she said with a chuckle, “This increase is just election-season bait. They’re dangling a tiny treat to catch attention, hoping we’ll forget the bigger problems.”
Mariyakutty lives alone in the 3-cent Congress-built house, with only occasional visits from her daughter. “This house isn’t a gift from Congress—it’s the reward for my struggles,” she said.
Mariyakutty also remembered her longtime friend Annakkutty, who passed away in September last year. “Annakkutty always said we must stand up for ourselves and speak our mind,” she recalled. “I’m carrying that spirit forward, even in my voting choice this election.”
Campaigners haven’t reached her doorstep yet, but Mariyakutty is already decided BJP.