A painful reminder of the mysterious deaths of two minor girls, both siblings, is one of the poll symbols in Dharmadom, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's constituency.
The Walayar mother, as she is now known, is contesting under the symbol 'frock', "not to become an MLA or a minister," as she says in her campaign convention.
The frock became a symbol of the mysterious deaths of the girls, aged 13 and 9, within a span of two months in 2017. The girls were found dead hanging from the rafter of their house in Walayar.
During her continuing struggle for justice for her daughters, the mother has been displaying a little frock - with no one to wear it - at protest meetings. The piece of clothing thus became a symbol of grief, determination and struggle for justice.
The woman successfully demanded the symbol, and her posters requesting votes are few and far between in the constituency, flooded with campaign materials of other candidates. The mother says the frock represents her daughters.
She held her poll convention on Wednesday. She arrived at the venue along with activists of the Justice for Walayar Kids Forum. The woman with a tonsured head and clad in a fading orange saree, was the last to alight from the Tempo Traveller.
Around 30 people were in the auditorium when the group arrived. She had earlier toured Dharmadom as part of the Yatra for Justice. She had then handed over a letter to the mothers in Dharmadom.
"Did the Walayar mother get justice," the letter requested the woman to ask Chief Minister Vijayan when he meets them on his campaign trail.
By the time Yatra reached Thrissur, several mothers had phoned her. They urged her not to miss this opportunity to raise the question directly at the Chief Minister. "Those call made me decide to contest in Dharmadom," she says.
Social activists Selena Prakkanam and Bindu Kamalan, who had also tonsured their heads in solidarity with the Walayar mother, accompanied her to the convention. Activist P Geetha inaugurated the meet, and as speakers referred to the 2017 incidents, the mother bowed her head to hide the tears welling up.
It was past 5pm when the mother rose to speak. Her voice cracked in grief as she began her speech occasionally punctuated by sobs: I am not contesting to become an MLA or a minister…"
