ARYANAD (THIRUVANANTHAPURAM):When the bypoll campaign in Aruvikkara has entered a feverish pitch with just 11 days left for the poll day on June 27, the turf is turning totally political despite some undercurrents. While the UDF and LDF are on a desperate mission for political survival and cutting a path forward in an election year, the BJP is also leaving no stone unturned for an impressive show, as it would be a litmus test for the party to assert in the state’s political scene and signal a new beginning. However, the heat of the entire campaign is yet to catch up with the 1.78 lakh electorate in the out-and-out rural constituency, comprising mostly medium and marginal farmers and engaged in other modest vocations.
The UDF campaign has gathered much momentum as Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala have taken direct control of the campaign at the grass roots level itself. KPCC president V M Sudheeran, apart from other UDF leaders and MLAs, are also active on the campaign front. Chandy and Ramesh have attended umpteen people’s conclaves in the past few days, re-establishing a connect with voters and bowling for the youthful K S Sabarinathan, UDF candidate and son of the late G Karthikeyan. IUML leaders P K Kunhalikutty and K P A Majeed also have adopted a similar pattern in select areas.
The thrust of the UDF campaign is the development paradigm pursued by the government for the entire state and the impact of it in Aruvikkara as well, in which, the role played by G Karthikeyan is also highlighted. The LDF is being pictured as those who oppose anything and everything on political lines and thus a bane to the state’s development, the latest instance being the Vizhinjam seaport project. The palpable division in the CPM over giving an upper hand for V S Achuthanandan in leading the campaign for LDF candidate M Vijayakumar has also become a UDF campaign stock.
State leaders of the CPM and other LDF constituents have also geared up to enter the campaign scene vigorously in the days ahead. CPM politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, who is known to be in charge of coordinating the LDF campaign, have not addressed public meets so far, unlike V S Achuthanandan.
