KASARAGOD: Two young friends start talking politics over a cup of coffee in a show.
Friend 1: So this is your maiden vote. Who are you voting for?
Friend 2 (looking excited): Yes. But I haven't decided yet whom to vote for.
Friend 1: What's there to think. Vote for N A 'cha'.
Friend 2: But the trolls say he has not done anything.
This is not a real conversation. It is a campaign ad posted by Kasaragod's two-time MLA N A Nellikunnu on his Facebook page and it captures the widely held perception that he has underperformed when it comes to implementing projects but fairly well as a parliamentarian.
In the ad, Friend 1 goes on to list the MLA's achievements but barely manages to talk of three things to persuade the maiden voter. He lists Kasaragod Medical College; the construction of a check dam at Bavikkara, a drinking water project which was in the making for 30 years; and lastly, the MLA's daring act to pull the chain of Antyodaya Express in Kasaragod on June 22, 2018, to protest against the Railways decision not to allow stop for the Kochuveli-Mangaluru Express train in the district.
After the protest, the railways granted a stop for the train in Kasaragod.
Kasaragod medical college is nowhere close to reality. Its foundation stone was laid in November 2013 by the then chief minister Oommen Chandy. The construction of the Bavikkara check dam has brought cheers to people of five panchayats and Kasaragod municipality because for 30 years people were forced to drink saline water during the summers.
The LDF government completed the project in two years. Nellikkunnu claims the project became a reality because of the numerous questions he raised inside and outside the Assembly. "I made a promise to the people of Kasaragod that I will solve their drinking water crisis and I have kept the word," he said.
To be fair, Udma MLA K Kunhiraman -- Bavikkara now comes in his constituency -- paid personal attention to the implementation of the project. When it comes to implementing projects, Nellikkunnu says he brought in projects worth Rs 469 crore to his constituency in the past five years. Giving the breakup, he says the healthcare sector got Rs 121 crore, transport for Rs 189 crore, and the education sector in his constituency got Rs 83 crore.
Just for comparison, Trikaripur's first-time MLA M Rajagopalan brought in projects worth Rs 1,436 crore to his constituency, of which Rs 1,100 crore was for constructing roads and bridges. Kanhangad MLA and minister E Chandrasekharan got Rs 900 crore for roads alone.
K Kunhiraman, who represented Udma, brought in projects worth Rs 1,600 crore to the constituency.
In Kasaragod constituency, the MLA is not held accountable during elections. Since 1980, the constituency has seen only two MLAs -- C T Ahamedali (1980-2011) and Nellikkunnu (2011-2021). "As long as the BJP is No. 2 in Kasaragod, the IUML has no risk and IUML voters have no option," says Zubair Pullikunnu, an IUML worker who runs a footwear business in town.
When asked to rate Nellikkunnu, he gave 8 out of 10 to the MLA but added: "If not for the BJP, his margin may dip".
Trailing Shreekanth
Around 11 km from Kasaragod town, BJP district president and party's candidate K Shreekanth is taking out a roadshow at Edneer -- on the Cherkala-Kalladaka state highway. He gets on to the decked-up truck 500m away from Edneer bus stop. The truck and his convoy take 20 minutes to reach the bus stop. "That is the condition of the state highway. It could be the only major road in Kasaragod which has not been rebuilt in the past five years," says Dhananjay, Shreekanth's media coordinator.
Nellikkunnu says the contractors stopped the work on the road but some people were blaming him for that.
Sreekanth gets down from the truck and goes around Edneer junction, meeting people and seeking a vote. He meets Ayesha (60) -- clad in burqa -- in front of a shop and seeks her vote.
After the candidate moved to another shop, TNIE asked her whether she will vote for the BJP. Her terse reply was: "We have only one party".
Ramachandra E C, who runs a provision store, says the junction has a bank, school ration shop, post office, and ayurveda clinic and people of this place have been asking for a public toilet and an outlet for drinking water for a long time. The junction has a public well.
Around 500m from the junction is Chembayil Colony, a cluster of 30 houses of Dalit families. "Every evening, after work, the women from the colony come here to take water home. The colony has no access to water," he says. "The drawing of water goes on till night. The women have no rest," he says.
Shreekanth sits in a bus shelter, painted in the BJP's colour, and speaks to TNIE. He says there are many families in the constituency who live in shacks and without access to drinking water.
At Mooliparamba in Badiadka panchayat, he says, he met one Safiya living in a shack covered in tarpaulin. "I met another mother, Jayanthi, with two children living under a public water tank in the same panchayat," he says.
The anganwadi in the MLA's own municipal ward is still run from a rented building, says Shreekanth.
Governance does not reach them and the people of the district depend on Mangaluru for education and healthcare, he says. "But the IUML invests only in anti-BJP rhetoric. The CPM contributes to it. For decades, the blind hate for BJP has kept the district backward," he says.
When asked if it was 'blind hate' or if there is some substance in the fear, he insists it is blind hate. "We are not opposed to the Muslim community but against organisations such as SDPI. But that is portrayed as being against Muslims," he says.
Many rich people from Kasaragod have invested in educational institutions and hospitals at Deralakatte on the outskirts of Mangaluru, says Shreekanth. "Deralakatte was just like a village in Kasaragod. Today it is a major hub for healthcare and education. If only our leaders had a vision, the investment would have been made in Kasaragod," he says.
This time, the IUML will get a shock treatment from a section of workers from its own party, says Shreekath. But Zubair disagrees. "The BJP does not inspire confidence. Not yet," he says.
Number game