It’s revenge time for LDF in Alathur after the ‘shock’ it received in 2019

It’s revenge time for LDF in Alathur after the ‘shock’ it received in 2019

A group of middle-aged women who were waiting for Alathur’s United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate and sitting MP Ramya Haridas at Kanippayur near Kunnamkulam were excited on seeing their “singing” candidate. For a few minutes, they were oblivious of the sweltering sun. Ms. Haridas jumped out of her campaign vehicle and dashed towards the women. She tried to touch them all, both physically and psychologically, with her characteristic smile and affableness.

Seeking their votes, Ms. Haridas reiterated the necessity of unseating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre. More than listening to her speak, the women were excited to hear her sing a few lines. And Ms. Haridas, in spite of some soreness in throat, was more than happy to oblige. By singing this time, Ms. Haridas was trying to disprove a propaganda by her opponents that the Congress had banned her from singing.

Ms. Haridas has been approaching the voters uninhibitedly. She even walked into  Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and BJP offices. She joined the percussion band at Nenmara-Vallangi temple festival and surprised the crowds.

For the UDF supporters of Alathur, she continued to be their “younger sister” as she was in 2019. Her singing prowess took shifts from Malayalam to Tamil when she approached the voters along the Tamil Nadu border in the eastern belt of Palakkad.

Alathur has four Assembly segments in Palakkad district (Tarur, Chittur, Nenmara and Alathur) and three Assembly segments in Thrissur district (Kunnamkulam, Chelakkara and Wadakkanchery).

But for Ms. Haridas’s adversary K. Radhakrishnan, Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate and current Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes in the State Cabinet, it is revenge time. The CPI(M) has chosen Mr. Radhakrishnan to wrest back Alathur from Ms. Haridas, who had given a rude shock to the party in 2019.

Removing the red garlands placed on his neck by his party workers at different points, Mr. Radhakrishnan spoke to them convincingly about the relevance of the Left in the current elections. “You know how important it is for the Left to win this election. It is time for us to win back the lost glory. It is time to dethrone the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre,” he said in a soft voice.