At 70, Gopalan harbours no political loyalties and takes no interest in the theatre of elections. But ask him about A K Antony, and his mood takes a turn for the worse. The former chief minister is the one figure who draws his genuine, undisguised anger. The reason, Gopalan explains plainly, is Antony’s ban on arrack -- a policy that left his life in ruins.
For ten years, he worked at a privately owned arrack shop in Thiruvananthapuram, earning Rs 3,000 a month -- a decent wage by 1990s standards, with provident fund (PF) benefits to boot. There was also an informal perk the owner himself had sanctioned, known as vettumeni, where servers were permitted to short-pour 100ml of the alcoholic drink by 5ml and pocket the difference. The owner even had people in place to ensure no one exceeded that limit in his chain of outlets . It was a corruption that had its own code of conduct.
Then the arrack ban arrived in 1996 -- and Gopalan’s world collapsed overnight. He pooled his PF, government compensation, and personal savings to build a modest home, took up daily wage labour, and eventually opened a small roadside shop in Valiyara, Aruvikkara, which he runs to this day. A devoted Congress worker before the ban, Gopalan now casts his vote as a matter of principle -- in favour of politicians who he believes can positively impact his life.
Voters like Gopalan -- those who carry no fixed political allegiance, but weigh the current circumstances and candidates’ merit -- are often the silent force that tips the scale on election day.
And they are expected to play a key role in Aruvikkara, where a fierce three-way battle is unfolding, with sitting MLA G Stephen of the LDF, V S Sivakumar, Congress leader and former minister, and actor Vivek Gopan of the BJP in the fray. In the previous election, Stephen won by 5,046 votes -- a comfortable but-far-from-commanding margin.
In the majestic hill station of Ponmudi, tourists continue to trickle in, even as the winter gives way to early, salubrious summer, and the alluring mist mostly keeps away from the slopes
“It does not matter who wins or loses, nothing much will change around here. If we work hard, we can make a living,” said a worker at an estate at the Ponmudi Upper Sanatorium. Now in his 60s, he reserves particular frustration for visitors who pollute Ponmudi, which falls under Vamanapuram constituency. “Malayalis ke ep their homes spotless. But the moment they step out onto the road, they behave shamelessly. We deserve the kind of politicians we get, leaders with no sincerity,” he says.
In constituencies where candidates were unveiled early in the process, campaigning has already reached fever pitch.
In Kazhakoottam, former state minister and CPM leader Kadakampally Surendran and former Union minister and BJP leader V Muraleedharan had both launched their campaigns well before the official declaration of elections. Late to the contest, but quickly establishing a visible presence on the ground, is UDF’s T Saratchandra Prasad.
Kazhakoottam is home to Technopark, India’s first IT park. The sprawling campus employs over 80,000 people, a significant number of whom have migrated here from various parts of the state and beyond, making it their home. The park’s growth and future are watched just as keenly by local residents and the business community, as by the employees themselves.
For Sreeja, a project manager at a leading IT firm, the anxieties run deeper than politics. “The rise of artificial intelligence, layoffs hitting even major companies, and the war in West Asia are among our concerns. The new government’s IT policy should keep pace with the global scenario. It should facilitate the creation of more employment opportunities,” she says.