KOCHI: It’s not posters and flex boards that enhance candidates’ chances of victory. Rather, it is the connect they have with people. Babu John, the CPM candidate who contested and won from ward 1 of Ezhamkulam panchayat in Adoor, Pathanamthitta, on Wednesday, is the best example of this. Fondly called ‘Babu sir’, the 59-year-old retired section officer eliminated all kinds of posters, flex boards and other items for his election campaign – his maiden political venture – and depended on door-to-door, personal interactions with voters. The result: He won the ward with over 70% majority, getting 705 out of the 969 votes polled.
His reason for ditching the poll materials: The environment. And hence, his win is also a victory for his environment-friendly campaigning.“Since I live an eco-friendly life, I wanted to follow a similar approach in my campaigning.
My success shows that besides my political views, people approved of my environmental-friendly stand,” said Babu, who engages in organic farming and grows medicinal plants. In fact, he allotted a significant portion of land near his house for forest plants to allow their natural growth.
“I was not afraid when I decided to abandon the usual campaigning methods. I enjoy a good relationship with people here and they consider me as their own. Hence, I felt I didn’t require a poster or banner to connect with them,” he said.He carried out his door-to-door campaigning in strict adherence to the Covid and green protocol.
The MSC physics graduate said his last tryst with elections was contesting in the college union elections. “I was not keen on contesting. However, when the party asked, I said yes. They also liked and agreed to my eco-friendly campaigning method,” said Babu, who has also written several books, mainly on medicinal plants, the Himalayas and Kailasa journeys.
CPM supporter Subi Mathai said Babu participates in all kinds of social events and is popular among people. “He remembers the name of every person in every house he visits,” he said. Babu said he wants to help people improve in the fields of education and the environment. “I also want to help them increase their standard of living by focusing on social and cultural aspects. I want to make a change, no matter how small it is,” he said.