KOCHI: By 6.30am, the roads of Puthenvelikkara are already buzzing. Not with commute chaos, but with anticipation. A convoy is expected. And with it, a man whose political future may well be decided in the bylanes of Paravur.
For V D Satheesan, ‘VDS’ to party workers, this is not just another election. It is a reckoning.
The day begins early, as it often does when he is in his constituency. The format rarely changes: junction meetings, an open vehicle, a convoy of cars and bikes snaking through narrow roads, stopping just long enough for a speech, a handshake, and a promise.
Nearly 10 such stops before noon. Another 10 in the second half, stretching late into the night.
Beneath the routine lies urgency. “This election should end the misrule of the LDF and Pinarayi Vijayan. It should mark the dawn of a new Keralam,” Satheesan tells a modest crowd of about 100 at a junction in Puthenvelikkara, his voice cutting through the humid morning air.
Satheesan has raised the stakes himself. Quite dramatically so. He has promised to quit and go on “vanavaas” if he fails to deliver a “sparkling win” for the Congress-led UDF.
The numbers tell their own story. Since his narrow defeat in 1996, Satheesan has turned Paravur into a fortress — winning five consecutive elections, each time increasing his margin. From 7,434 votes in 2001 to over 21,000 in 2021. This time, his supporters speak openly of a 30,000-vote margin.
Karimpadom remembers. The 2018 floods swallowed homes and hope alike. As local leaders took turns on the mic, they recalled how Satheesan worked “day and night” during the disaster.
They attack former minister M M Mani, who was electricity minister at that time, for “opening all the dams”. And also push back against a persistent LDF charge: that Paravur has seen no development.
“Those who say that have not seen Paravur 25 years ago,” counters local leader Benny Pulickal.
Then there is the shadow of controversy — the Punarjanani project, a post-flood rehabilitation initiative linked to Satheesan. Allegations over fund usage have triggered calls for a vigilance probe.
His team’s response is political and personal: a ‘Sneha Sangamam’, bringing together beneficiary families.
By afternoon, the campaign pauses briefly. Satheesan heads to Nedumbassery for a lunch meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and national general secretary K C Venugopal. The optics matter.
Back in Paravur, the grind resumes. By the time the convoy reaches Paliyam Nada, it is dark. Satheesan steps down, greets people, climbs back onto the vehicle, and delivers a sharp, no-frills speech.
“I have no promises to give,” he says. “But I will be there like a member of your family — whenever you call.”
Simple, direct. The road ahead, however, is anything but that.
The NDA has made the fight more direct, replacing BDJS with a BJP candidate — former Paravur municipal chairperson Valsala Prasanna Kumar, who switched over from the Congress recently. The LDF has put up E T Taison Master, the sitting MLA from Kaippamangalam. The arithmetic may shift.
And then there is history— Satheesan, the ‘nearly’ man. Never a minister, even when the UDF was in power. Never an NSUI or KPCC president. Always close, never quite there. Between the cup and the lip, something always intervened.As the convoy moves again — it is past 7pm. Seven more stops to go. But, there is no visible fatigue on his face. Only intent.
Because in Paravur, this election is not just about winning. It is about arrival. Or exit.