THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The paint had barely dried when CPI mandalam leader G Lalkrishnan walked in. His left hand bore marks of sunburn, and he was sweating profusely from his exertions. The former block panchayat president of Perumkadavila, in Neyyattinkara, the 34-year-old is spearheading the election campaign of LDF’s Thiruvananthapuram candidate Pannyan Raveendran in Ottasekharamangalam region, as its convener.
The scorching sun has been challenging for campaigners. Yet, Lalkrishnan has his task cut out. Apart from other activities, he has to paint election graffiti in areas falling under four booths. Having completed 64 graffiti in three days, Lalkrishnan says he has saved his front thousands of rupees and invigorated his comrades to put their best foot forward for their candidate.
Though political parties in the state have largely done away with the practice of relying on activists to prepare graffiti, Lalkrishnan thought otherwise.
“There are eight booths in our area and we had graffiti in only four of them. We simply could not afford to wait and I took the lead,” he says. Work starts early in the morning and continues till nightfall. There is an hour’s break for lunch and that’s the only time when he and his fellow artist take a breather. “The summer heat is unbearable and we often wish for a wall in the shade,” he says.
Professional artists have made campaigns a costlier affair, says Lalkrishnan. A painter charges up to Rs 2,000 a day. “This is besides the cost of paint and other materials. The Left parties used to make use of their own manpower for such work. Times have changed, but I like it the old way,” he adds.
Lalkrishnan was working as a Hindi teacher in a self-financing college when the party fielded him as a candidate in the LSG election. He sacrificed his career at the altar of political activity.