Chandy Oommen began his campaign on August 23, Wednesday, apologising to Ramesh Chennithala.
The candidate's vehicle procession was scheduled to start at 7 am from the Vennimala temple, the spot from where Oommen Chandy had begun all his 12 election campaigns. The temple is perched atop the tallest hill in Puthuppally.
Chennithala, who was to flag off the procession, was there on the dot. It was 9 am when Chandy Oommen arrived.
Chennithala mentioned this in his inaugural speech, not in irritation but in the light-hearted manner a senior would adopt to mildly rebuke his juniors. Chandy looked surprised.
When his turn came, he apologised."I profusely apologise for being late. I had told the organisers that 7 am was not practical. Father's rituals should be conducted for 40 days. So I had said 9 am. Somehow there was a communication gap. I seriously regret that a tall leader like Ramesh Chennithala had to wait for so long," he said.
This happened right through the day. His campaign managers doing things their way and the candidate trying hard not to be seen as both insensitive and a puppet.
Chandy waylaid
At times, he had no choice. Near Payyappady, for instance, leaders forced Chandy to step down from his vehicle and walk the 100 metres to the junction where a temporary stage had been erected.
The candidate evidently preferred to go right up to the stage in his open vehicle. From his high seat in the open vehicle, he gestured to the local Congress crowd to move out of the way. But they stood right in the middle of the road. "Oommen Chandy sir always walked from here to Payyappady junction. It was one of sir's election rituals," one of them said. So he obeyed.
'Blink and you miss' visits
Many a time, while being taken along to meet people at junctions, Chandy kept telling his minders to avoid causing inconvenience to the public.
"Please, don't create a traffic block," he kept saying. A near impossibility. The candidate's convoy was too much of a crowd for Puthuppally's narrow roads; innumerable two-wheelers, nearly as many cars, announcement vehicles and the open 'chariot' carrying Chandy.
Congress leaders in the area took Chandy Junior around as they wished. They pointed to the people Chandy had to shake hands with, those he just had to wave at and others he only had to smile at.
There were competing demands. One wanted Chandy to enter a shop on the left ("Oommen Chandy sir had secured the shop owner's son a job in a tyre factory"), another wanted him to wish the owner of a car workshop on the right ("He had studied with Oommen Chandy sir in school"). Yet another pulled a child towards Chandy so that she could garland him ("She is the granddaughter of a former CPM ward member").
All of this is done on the move.
Moments of wonder
But whenever Chandy came across something unique -- an infant or a shop selling parrots -- he stopped.
The moment he saw the infant in her father's arms, Chandy picked her up. He kissed her and kept looking at her until someone told him not to expose the child to such harsh sunlight.
It was only after he shook hands with the pet shop owner that he noticed the caged parrots. He stopped on his way out. His eyes lingered on the boxes of parrots long enough for his managers to panic. They were already late by nearly three hours.
"How much do you charge for a box," Chandy asked. Before the seller could respond, he was pulled away.
"He will buy a box the next time he comes here after winning," the local leader taking him away called back to the shop owner.
Father's proxy
Like the local Congress leaders, it is clear to Chandy Oommen, too, that this election he is just a stand-in for his father.
UDF speakers at street corner meetings harp on Chandy Junior's educational qualifications; his stint at the prestigious St Stephen's College in Delhi and his super speciality in criminal law. Also, his barefoot walk along with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
But even Chandy is aware that during this by-election, his father is his biggest qualification. The Congress wants to make it seem like Puthuppally voters are being given one last chance to vote for Oommen Chandy.
And Chandy Oommen plays along. At every street corner speech, he ends his very short speech thus: "You have given 'appa' lots of love. I request you to extend the same love to me. If you let me win, I assure you that like my father I will also be with you for the rest of my life."
