A few posters and banners dot prominent locations around the small town. Some of them in Tamil. It would appear Kumily, the scenic Idukki town bordering Tami Nadu, is yet to catch the election fever.
Nevertheless, officers attached to the Kumily police station — located near the checkpost on the Kollam-Dindigul National Highway 183 — are on the job. Not even small goods carriers crossing the border are exempt from their scrutiny. Vehicles carrying Tamil women returning home after a day’s labour pass through the checkpost frequently. And the officers fine drivers caught violating any law. But their Tamil Nadu counterparts seem less vigilant.
Workers from the border regions of Tamil Nadu are mostly employed in the tea plantations in and around Kumily. The town is also the gateway to the famous tourism centre of Thekkady, four kilometres away. Shops selling spices and allied products and homemade chocolates line the road, with tourists being the principal targets.
“Electioneering hasn’t picked up heat in Kumily, nor in the neighbouring Theni,” says Mohammed Yusuf, a Tamil-speaking bakery salesman who resides in Peruvanthanam panchayat.
“As Tamil Nadu will go to polls a week before Kerala, on April 19, vehicle checking will become stricter in the coming days.”
Tamil voters do have an influence in the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency as the assembly segments of Devikulam, Peermade and Udumbanchola have significant Tamil population.
“Business is dull this season,” says Rejith who runs a spice shop. “The heat and the imminent elections have kept many tourists away.”
He says the fall in the prices of spices and the issues related to tourism are the major talking points in the region. Rejith, however, is least bothered about election matters. His concern: a possible a rise in the price of cardamom and the arrival of more tourists during the summer vacation.
Idukki is witnessing a rare thing — a third consecutive fight between the same UDF and LDF candidates. On the ground, however, there is little noise. Campaigning is restricted to posters and banners.
The Congress has fielded sitting MP Dean Kuriakose who had wrested the seat from the LDF with a landslide majority of 1,71,053 votes in 2019. The LDF candidate is Joice George who had prevailed in 2014. BDJS leader Sangeetha Vishwanathan is the NDA candidate.
In the lead-up to the elections, the rising man-animal conflicts have emerged as a major electioneering issue in the constituency nestled among the Western Ghats.
Those living in the high ranges and the lower hills are equally fed up with the issue. Residents of Kanjiraveli near Neriamangalam, where 70-year-old Indhira Ramakrishnan lost her life to a wild elephant attack in March, are living in fear as the tusker entered the human habitation again. People have also spotted a bison and two bears nearby.
“Around 70 families have so far moved out,” says Eldhose, a resident of Kanjiraveli where 270 families reside on the forest fringes.
“Forest department officials installed two lamp posts after the woman’s death. Can that prevent the entry of elephants? Effective fencing or construction of trenches is required. The officials are not ready to construct trenches, saying it would obstruct the elephant corridor.”
Anil Kumar, another resident, says officials are taking a stand that protects wild animals, not humans.
“We will all be killed by elephants. That particular elephant has been creating problems since 2019. Besides, the police fabricated false charges against those who staged protests. We will reply to their act in the coming election,” he says.
Currently, vehicles are not allowed to the Kanjiraveli colony from 7am to 6pm as work is progressing on the road there.
In the lower regions of Thodupuzha, Muvattupuzha and Kothamangalam, rubber farmers are in distress.
“We expect a price rise after the elections. The price is around Rs 200 per kilo. If it rises to Rs 250-300 per kg, the farmers can survive,” says Joy, a rubber farmer in Melukavu near Thodupuzha. The state government’s recent measures, hiking the minimum support price for rubber by Rs 10 to Rs 180 a kilo, have not yielded the desired results.
The fall in the prices of agricultural produce is a major concern in Kattappana too.
“There is widespread discontent among farmers against the LDF government which has failed to protect farmers’ interests,” says Jose P Thomas, a farmer in Puliyanmala.
Bjiu, an autorickshaw driver in Kattappana, begs to differ.
“Joice is contesting on the CPM party symbol this time. And the sitting MP has failed to highlight Idukki’s issues in Parliament,” he says.
Since its establishment in 1977, the electoral dynamics of Idukki have consistently swung between the UDF and the LDF. In 2014, the spotlight shifted to the Madhav Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports on the conservation of the Western Ghats, sparking protests from the Idukki diocese.
However, the political landscape in the constituency has evolved considerably, with new challenges emerging — from the forests and in the farmlands.