THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It’s double joy for Aritha Babu, the Congress candidate in Kayamkulam assembly constituency, as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is expected to campaign for her. Party’s another star campaigner Rahul Gandhi too had campaigned for her in the recent days. During his campaign meeting for Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and Aritha at Cheppad last Monday, Rahul Gandhi said the energy of young people like Aritha will keep the state in good stead.
Ever since the state Congress president Mullappally Ramachandran had announced the party’s youngest candidate, 27-year-old Aritha had been hogging the headlines. The media reported that Aritha’s day begins at 4am and that she distributes milk in her neighbourhood at Govindamuttam in Puthupally, Kayamkulam, which has been her livelihood for the last several years.
Central Congress organising general secretary K C Venugopal had taken a personal interest to field Aritha to wrest the Kayamkulam seat which has been considered as a CPM bastion. During his previous stint as Alappuzha MP, Venugopal was aware of Aritha’s talent as she represented the Krishnapuram division in Alappuzha district panchayat during 2015-2020. A senior Congress leader told TNIE that Priyanka Gandhi is keen on campaigning for Aritha after she came to know of her humble background.Priyanka has got a hectic two days of campaigning in the southern districts of the state as well as in central Kerala on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Priyanka to arrive tomorrow
Priyanka is scheduled to arrive at the Thiruvananthapuram airport by a special flight from New Delhi on Tuesday morning. She will fly to Kayamkulam by helicopter by 11.20am. On reaching there, she will travel by road to attend corner meetings at Karunagapally where she will seek votes for candidates in Kunnathoor and Chavara.
She will also be attending corner meetings at Kollam, Eravipuram, Chathannur and Kundara. Priyanka will then take a chopper ride to Kottarakkara where she will campaign for UDF candidates in Pathanapuram, Punalur and Chadayamangalam. She will then return to Thiruvananthapuram district where her first stoppage is at Venjaramoodu.
She will attend corner meetings there for candidates from Varkala, Attingal, Vamanapuram and Nedumangad. At the corner meeting at Kattakada, she will be campaigning for Aruvikkara, Kattakada and Parassala candidates. Priyanka will return to the capital city by evening by road via Poojapura, Karamana, Killipalam and Poonthura where she will campaign for Nemom and Thiruvananthapuram Central candidates. Her final programme is at Valiyathura on Tuesday.On Wednesday, Priyanka is scheduled to campaign in Kottayam, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.
Meanwhile, a section of Congress leaders are upset with the party leadership for not bringing the star campaigner to Vattiyoorkavu assembly constituency where Veena S Nair is the Congress candidate. It was due to the intervention of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi that she had got the party ticket in the last moment.