With the ‘Draft Master Plan’ turning out to be a villain for the candidates in the Lok Sabha election, the leaders are finding it difficult to choose a campaign mode to win over the people in and around Kazhakkoottam area. If residents in Kattayikonam and Chanthavila divisions are to be believed, they won’t entertain any election campaign and, according to them, any mode of canvassing is yet to pick up in their areas.
The people’s council formed against the land acquisition planned in the area has decided not to allow workers of any political party in these areas. The ban on campaigning does not spare even the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and independent candidates.
The Kattayikonam and Attipra areas are the venues of the continuing peaceful protests against the draft master plan and people assemble there every day to express their protest. According to the residents of Kattayikonam, if they allow political campaigns, it will disturb the calm environment prevailing there now.
In the recent meetings held here among the people they decided not to allow election campaigns in these areas. The people had earlier said that they had no objection to political leaders joining the people in the protest with a condition that they shouldn’t ask for votes or conduct any campaigns there. But, later, this decision too withdrawn and the people declared that no political party activists or leaders should reach their area.
During the last Lok Sabha elections, people here were in the forefront of campaigning. Both Attipra and Kattayikonam come under the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, which is witnessing a close contest this time. There are a total of around 26,000 voters in Kattayikonam. They said that it would be tough for them to keep away from polls, but that they had no other option as the leaders were against the people. “We don’t want any such leaders here,” said Viswan, a resident of Kazhakkoottam.
The people also explained that it was decided not to make any concession in the case of AAP as well, because they had decided to treat all political parties equally. “But we are not against people voting in the elections. It is their democratic right and they can vote for the party of their liking,” said Suresh Sasthavattom, a member of the people’s council.
The people have been waiting for an opportunity to express their ire all these days as the area was once a stronghold of both the CPM and the Congress. When Express contacted the common people in the Chanthavila, Sasthavattom and the places in and around they said that they were not going to allow any sort of campaigning here. “We will not allow any party to either write on our walls or put up flex boards in our area,” they said.
If in other parts of the district soaring humidity has become a hurdle for conducting various modes of vote-catching here it is the people themselves who are opposing campaigning.