CHALAKKUDY: Veteran actor-turned-politician Innocent broke a decade-old jinx that the people of Kerala, the most literate state in the country, will not easily send an actor to the sanctum sanctorum of democracy, like their counterparts in other states, by registering a thumping victory against his rival and AICC spokesperson P C Chacko in Chalakudy Lok Sabha Assembly.
According to experts, this is the first time in the history of Kerala that an actor is being elected as a people’s representative in Parliament, though a number of actors had unsuccessfully fought the Parliament elections in the past.
The actor, who cites the legacy of his father’s Communist background as his basic qualification to contest the elections on CPM-backed ticket, besides his short stint as a municipal councillor in Irinjalakkuda municipality in Thrissur district in 1979, said “the people of the Chalakudy constituency know the difference between ‘reel life and real life.’ That is why they elected me as their representative to Parliament,”.
Earlier, the CPM-led LDF had fielded Jnanpith award winner and renowned lyricist O N V Kurup in Thiruvananthapuram constituency in 1989 Lok Sabha elections. Similarly, the CPM fielded actor Murali in Alappuzha constituency in 1999 and he lost the election to present KPCC president V M Sudheeran.
Though the most popular hero of yore in the Malayalam film industry, Prem Nazir, had joined the Congress in 1987, he never contested the elections, fearing how the Kerala voters will react. But a handful of actors had successfully and unsuccessfully tried their luck in the elections held to the Kerala Assembly.
Actor Ganeshkumar, who was born and brought up in a political family, was elected to Assembly three times on the ticket of Kerala Congress (B). The famed but handsome villain Devan, who formed a political party named Kerala People Party, tried his luck in the Assembly election, but failed to get entry into the legislative house. Actor and director Thoppil Bhasi and Ramu Kariat had also successfully contested the Assembly elections in 1957 and 1965 from Pathanamthitta and Nattika, respectively. With the thumping success of Innocent, people of the state can expect more stars from the Malayalam tinsel world to come forward to test their luck in the election, as the Left experiment created a history in the Parliament elections of the state.