THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Wednesday, as the summer sun rises over Nemom, CPM candidate V Sivankutty is bonhomie personified. He gatecrashes a wedding, blesses the bride and groom, embraces a kid and chats up the elders. At the other end of the constituency, the BJP’s O Rajagopal breakfasts on idli and sambar at a party loyalist’s home, and rushes off to address a women’s gathering. At about the same time, in Thiruvallam, near the ancient Parasuram Temple-- one of the major centres in the state where devotees can perform obsequies-- UDF candidate V Surendran Pillai is winding up the first of his 70 wayside meetings planned for the day.
In the upcoming polls, the Southern constituency of Nemom is witnessing a return match, with veteran Rajagopal taking on sitting MLA V Sivankutty. The latter had won by a margin of 6,415 votes five years ago, but this time round, the BJP is expected to give Sivankutty-- the posters herald him as a ‘warrior’-- a good run for his money. All the same, the minority Christian and Muslim votes in the constituency will continue to have a major say.
“But a lot has changed,” says Rajagopal, who is now 86 and older by three more election battles since 2011. “Last time, our rivals made up stories about the Gujarat riots (of 2002). That situation has changed. The Muslim community in general thinks differently now. Two, there is a lot of bitterness against the sitting MLA, and his ‘performance’ in the Assembly (a reference to the TV footage of Sivankutty with his dhoti hitched around the waist clambering atop a table in the House to prevent K M Mani from presenting the 2015-16 state Budget). Three, last time the BJP stood alone. Now, though, we have the BDJS and the KPMS to help us,” the former Union Minister says.
And the BJP leaders reel off statistics to justify their enthusiasm. In the 2014 elections to the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, Rajagopal had a lead of 18,000-plus votes in the Nemom Assembly segment over his nearest rival Shashi Tharoor of the Congress, who went onto win the seat. A year on, in the elections to the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the BJP picked up 11 of the 21 wards in the constituency, while the LDF and the UDF ended up with a measly eight and two wards respectively. Rajagopal remains the best bet for the BJP to sweet-talk the lotus into blooming in Kerala, but Sivankutty is confident about victory. The Assembly rumpus, he says, will not help his rivals.
‘’Bah! They see it with a jaundiced eye. Mani had taken a bribe and we were trying to prevent him from presenting the Budget. And the people know it’s the truth,” he says. While his rivals blame him for ignoring development, he points to the 5.5 km newly-widened stretch of the NH bypass cutting through his constituency. “The same road passes through Kattakkada, Neyyatinkara and Parassala constituencies. The MLAs there could not ensure this,” he says.
In Nemom, it’s mostly Rajagopal vs Sivankutty, but V Surendran Pillai of the Janata Dal (United)-- a former Ports Minister and until recently of the Kerala Cong (Skaria Thomas)-- is hoping to be the proverbial spanner in the works. “After he lost in 2011, Rajagopal said he didn’t want to have anything to do with Nemom. Now he’s back. Under Sivankutty’s watch, the place hasn’t known what development means,” says Surendran Pillai, urging voters to cast a vote for “him, peace and development”.
Vital Statistics
2011
Votes polled:
1.16 lakh
Polling percentage: 67.60
V Sivankutty (CPM):
50,076 (42.99 %) (Margin: 6,415 votes)
O Rajagopal (BJP):
43,661 (37.49 %)
Charupara Ravi (SJD): 20,248 (17.38)
2016
1.87 lakh Voters:
V Sivankutty (CPM)
O Rajagopal (BJP)
V Surendran Pillai (Janata Dal (United) )
O Rajagopal (BJP)
We promise change. The voters of Nemom are disgusted. The BJP-led NDA promises a third front with a strong base.
V Sivankutty (LDF)
I have fulfilled 80 per cent of the promises I made in 2011. The remaining 20 per cent is entangled in land acquisition disputes. I held 50 meetings to widen the NH bypass stretch passing through my constituency.
V Surendran Pillai (UDF)
The UDF promises development. We also stand against fascist and fundamentalist forces.
