Padayatras filling Thrissur with enthusiasm

THRISSUR: Suresh Gopi's Padayatra from Karuvannur to Thrissur and now, TN Prathapan MP's 'Sneha sandesha padayatra'... Padayatras (journey by foot) are the trend in Thrissur even before the announcement of candidates. Prathapan's padayatra will go on till March 5. Although Prathapan is saying that he is leading the padayatra against hatred and not as an election campaign, the activists are celebrating it like an election campaign.

As part of the journey, there are mobile tea stalls offering tea and snacks at reasonable prices. Prathapan's padayatra comes after the party organised a public meeting attended by P Chidambaram as part of 'Samaragni' led by KPCC president K Sudhakaran and opposition leader V D Satheesan. The BJP is also excited after the padayatra led by state president K Surendran arrived in the district the other day.

Meanwhile, former agriculture minister and CPI state council member VS Sunil Kumar is also active in public events. It was Sunil Kumar who inaugurated the representative meeting at the State Conference of Fire Service Drivers and Mechanics Association. Pattayamela attended by the Chief Minister was held in the district yesterday. There is also a face-to-face meeting with cultural leaders on Sunday. In short, the district is experiencing the heat wave of unofficial election campaigns.

After the announcement of candidates, Thrissur will be one of the constituencies that the national leaders of the Left Front will visit first. With Amit Shah coming to Thrissur once and Narendra Modi twice to pave the way for Suresh Gopi, the LDF and UDF are trying to get more star campaigners on the campaign trail. Earlier AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge had also visited Thrissur.