Election campaigning ends; silence period begins; Wayanad and Chelakkara to go to polls tomorrow

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Month-long election campaign that demonstrated controversies and fiery displays of excitement has come to an end. Wayanad parliamentary and Chelakkara assembly constituencies, where by-elections are being held, will go to the polls tomorrow. The by-election to the Palakkad assembly seat will be held on the 20th. However, the ripples of tremors created by the Palakkad constituency, which has become a land of controversies, are sure to influence the fate of these constituencies as well. Apart from this, there is also the wind of support blowing from the Wayanad passes, which were stirred by Rahul and Priyanka.

The CPM and the LDF are fighting a life-and-death battle to retain Chelakkara, which has been holding the red flag for over three decades. It is a matter of pride for UDF that Ramya Haridas, who came to Parliament in 2019 from the Alathur constituency, which includes Chelakkara, should get a ticket to the assembly from here. For the NDA, who is not tired of the excitement of winning the Thrissur parliamentary seat, a victory in the next battle in the same district will be twice as sweet.

With the next assembly elections barely a year and a half away, the result in Chelakkara, as in Palakkad, is a stepping stone for all three fronts.

The reality is that the three fronts are not seriously concerned about the outcome in Wayanad, which attracted national attention with Priyanka Gandhi's maiden election after Rahul Gandhi. UDF aims to increase Priyanka's majority to five lakh. Sathyan Mokeri is the popular leader who once shook the UDF forts. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was made a star campaigner by the LDF in preparation to repeat it once again. The BJP has put in a lot of hard work to show its strength for Navya Haridas, who has won the hearts of the people within a short span of time with her bold moves, by bringing union ministers, including Suresh Gopi, for the campaign.

Controversies pouring down like rain

• There were multiple sparks in the campaign from the PP Divya case, which put the CPM and the Front in the dock, to the Thrissur Pooram disruption, the Kodakara hawala case, the trolley bag in Palakkad, the worm in the food kits given to the disaster victims in Wayanad, the non-payment of central assistance to Wayanad, to Suresh gopi's anti-Waqf board remarks.
• The UDF's campaign is that the trolley bag trap was brought by the CPM to implicate the Congress in Palakkad in the black money case, just like the BJP in the Kodakara Hawala case. The rift among the CPM leaders is not limited to the Palakkad constituency.
• The CPM leadership in Kannur, which did its best to protect PP Divya, finally cast a shadow of suspicion even on former ADM Naveen Babu to remove Divya's displeasure over the demotion. This increased the intensity of controversy.