It's the battle of Kerala Congresses in Kaduthuruthy. Considered to be the home ground Kerala Congress, the constituency elected the party's candidate 11 out of 13 times it had contested ever since its formation.
The segment was in the news much before the candidates were announced. It was initially reported that Kerala Congress (M) chairman Jose K Mani will seek the mandate here. Later reports hinted at a surprise candidate.
The suspense fizzled out as UDF fielded Mons Joseph to take on Stephen George of the LDF. G Lijin Lal of the BJP is also in the fray.
Fertile land for Kerala Congress
Kaduthuruthy is agrarian in nature with rubber, coconut palms, paddy, plantain, nutmegs and tapioca growing in abundance, especially in the interior areas.
The farmers, however, are worried over the fall in prices, though the rubber market is showing signs of a revival. Both the LDF and UDF's manifestos have promised a support price of Rs 250 for rubber. The farmers will be happy if either of them kept the promise.
The fall in prices coupled with the hike in labour charges had forced several farmers to take a break, as indicated by the cultural wastelands seen in the constituency.
Life along the Ettumanoor-Thalayolaparambu stretch and MC Road is on the fast lane. Colourful posters of Mons and Stephen are put up on either side of the road. They are the stars, contesting from the same constituency in multiple elections. Lijin Lal, however, is the new face.
Shifting alliances
The battle between Mons and Stephen is reminiscent of the feud between the two lead characters in the 2020 Malayalam movie, 'Ayyappanum Koshiyum.' Both the candidates know the constituency like the back of their palms, and they had contested against each other three times in the past.
In their previous electoral battles, Stephen defeated Mons in their first encounter, while the latter won the remaining two. Interestingly, the men had contested for both UDF and LDF. Stephen had won the seat as a UDF candidate in 2001.
Both the Fronts have fielded their trusted warriors. And there was no surprise candidate as Kaduthuruthy had expected.
Pro-farmer, pro-development
Kocherry Sebastian of K S Puram is an angry man. It is summer, and he has not harvested 300 elephant-foot yams since the tuber crop's price have fallen. The same is the case with ginger and turmeric. He was to plant yam in Kumbham, the Malayalam month corresponding to February-March.
Additionally, Sebastian had to shell out more for buying ginger seeds. "When we try to sell something, it won't fetch any money. Try buying something, and it will be expensive," he fumed.
His friends tried to pacify him, saying the seeds are available at the Kuruppanthara market for a lesser price.
Sebastian, also the district secretary of Kerala Congress led by P J Joseph, narrated his woes when he accompanied Mons to submit the nomination papers. For him, farming has taken a backseat until the polls are over.
The delay in allotting an election symbol forced Mons to wait till the last moment to file the nomination papers. This correspondent met him when he was about to leave the constituency to attend a function. Despite his hectic campaign schedule, Mons has been attending functions, for personal relationships have been his strength.
After the function, Mons headed to an election convention at Kanakkary. He entered a roadside teashop on seeing an elderly voter, Parameshwaran Nair, who accorded a warm welcome to the candidate.
"I am firmly with K M Mani Sir's view that we should stand with UDF," Mons said. "I had won the election in a symbol other than the 'two leaves'. The circumstance here are favourable for another win," he added.
Upholding the interests of the farmers as he had always done, rejuvenating and increasing the capacity of canals and ponds, and ensuring more water to paddy fields, are among his promises. He is also aiming at making all village roads motorable, besides setting up public playgrounds for children and youths.
During the campaign, Mons highlighted his achievements: Mini Civil Station at Kaduthuruthy, a new building for the Government Polytechnic College, the construction of a building for K R Narayanan Hospital at Uzhavoor, and the commencement of a 400kV sub-station at Kuravilangad and a project to ensure drinking water to all households.
The candidate is confident that his achievements will help him sail through the polls.
Organizational strength
Stephen George and his party colleagues are confident that the new political equation, Kerala Congress (M) plus LDF, will ensure him a win. The LDF win in the local body polls has boosted his confidence. Additionally, he has the familiar 'two-leaves' symbol.
KC(M) constitution committee secretary T S Jayakumar said KC(M) has been working closely with CPM at the grassroots level.
Stephen was rushing to Veliyannoor panchayat when this correspondent caught up with him. The candidate stopped at the residence of P M Mathew, former MLA, for a brief discussion. He visited the residences of former active party workers, and those pointed out by CPM activists.
After visiting the LDF election committee office at Veliyannoor junction, he struck up a conversation with women working at a nearby farm under the employment-guarantee scheme. Those accompanying him reminded the candidate of the delaying schedule. "Let's leave," the candidate replies.
"The people are happy to meet me and their response is encouraging. There is no anti-incumbency feeling this time. The government has worked for the ordinary people. There is no poverty. Rubber has a support price of Rs 170 now. The government has also announced the base price for several other produces. It's a political decision to return this government back to power. It's the people's wish too," said.
Criticising his opponent, Stephen said several projects in the constituency are left incomplete. K M Mani Sir's 'two-leaves' symbol has the upper-hand in Kerala Congress's home ground. UDF rode on 'two-leaves' to win by a huge margin in the previous polls. LDF now has the strength the symbol provides," he added.
He pointed out the incomplete Kaduthuruthy bypass and ill-maintained village roads to highlight the plight of the constituency, and claimed that he had given prominence to repairing village roads when he was the MLA.
To supplement his argument, he said though land was acquired in 2005 for the bypass road, traffic snarls are a daily occurrence. “Drinking water projects for Velloor, Veliyannoor, Kavalipuzha and Pattar Madom have not been completed,” the LDF candidate said.
A vote for change
The simmering heat did not deter the BJP workers at Muttuchira Kavala. They welcomed Lijin Lal with slogans. The sudden sloganeering diverted the attention of those present to the young candidate and party workers.
"People's representatives now leave after waving hands with a smile whenever they meet the people. This has to change. My attempt is to intervene on behalf of their needs," Lijin Lal said, while requesting a vote for change.
He alleged that MLAs had not ushered in any change in the constituency through their intervention. The Kendriya Vidyalaya has been functioning out of a rented premises, he said, before drawing attention to the incomplete bypass road.
The NDA candidate said the interior roads of the constituency have been in a pathetic state. There is no motorable road to a government school at Kadaplamattom, he added.
Listing out the failures of UDF and LDF governments, Lijin said the construction of the Science City at Kuruvilangad was carried out using central funds.
"People are joining BJP in large numbers. We are getting positive response from people in areas where BJP did not have much influence," Lijin said.
Voters confused
The going is tough in Kaduthuruthy for the alliance in the fray. Familiar candidates, the split in Kerala Congress, the tussle over poll symbol, candidates changing alliances, and the merger of Kerala Congress groups have left the voters a confused lot.
Vinod K Jose of One India, One Pension (OIOP), is also in the fray. It has considerable influence in Uzhavoor, Kuravilangad and Kuruppanthara. The votes they had won in the local-body polls affected the prospects of several other candidates.
2016 Result
Total electorate: 1,82,749
Votes polled: 1,27,172
Polling percentage: 69.59
Margin: 42,256
Mons Joseph (KC-M): 73,793
Scaria Thomas (KC-Scaria Thomas): 31,537
Stephen Chazhikkadan (KC): 17,536
Jineesh John M (BSP): 1,473
T P Kuttappan (KJP): 968
Rajeev Kindangoor (Ind): 332
NOTA: 1,533
