THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There were radical changes in the campaign strategy of the UDF for Thrikkakara bypoll. One of them was the active leadership played by young leaders of the party. Led by Youth Congress state president Shafi Parambil, MLA, and vice-presidents K S Sabarinadhan and Rijil Makutty, hundreds of Youth Congress and KSU workers from different parts of the state camped in Thrikkakara and drove the campaign with all vigour.
Young MPs, Hibi Eden, Remya Haridas, Jebi Mather and Dean Kuriakose and MLAs Anwar Sadath, P C Vishnunath, Roji M John, Eldhose Kunnapally and C R Mahesh and KSU state president K M Abhijith were also in the forefront. State Congress office- bearers V P Sajeendran, V T Balram and Deepthi Mary Varghese were also among the young campaigners. The star debater in television political discussions and YC state general secretary Rahul Mamkoottathil, KSU leaders Miva Jolly and Anu Sebastian were also part of the vigorous campaign.
The first step before Shafi Parambil was to motivate the youth leaders in the area. In the second phase, 16 meetings were held in eight different places in Thrikkakara. This was held twice so that there was no scope for any lapses. “We gave thrust on house-to-house meetings which saw the KSU, Youth Congress and the senior leaders of the Congress and the UDF actively campaigning. Our next objective was to push weaker booth committees to the forefront. We brought in Shashi Tharoor, MP, and he led a vibrant and active interaction among the youth,”
Shafi Parambil told TNIE. When rain played spoilsport on the day when the candidate Uma Thomas campaigned in Edappally, the youth brigade came up with an alternative programme. The bike rally by the youth brigade was another star attraction which saw hundreds of them making waves on the kalashakottu, the last day of the campaigning. Actor Ramesh Pisharady’s presence created enough entertainment for the scores of Congress supporters who had thronged there.