Curtain down on high-octane campaign in Pala

Parties decide to wrap up their shows a day earlier since Saturday is the death anniversary of Sree Narayana Guru

A highly-charged final phase of campaigning for the byelection to the Pala Assembly constituency culminated on Friday evening amidst predictions of a close fight between the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

Though the candidates are permitted to carry out public campaign till 48 hours prior to the polling day on September 23, the parties have decided to wrap up their shows a day earlier since Saturday is the death anniversary of the social reformer Sree Narayana Guru.

While the high-voltage campaigning of the UDF concluded at the Kurishupalli junction, that of the LDF concluded at the Old Bus stand. The NDA campaign, meanwhile, wound up at the Kadappattur Bypass.

Hundreds of workers, to the accompaniment of drums, participated in the rallies while the road shows with motor cycles adorned with balloons and ribbons made the event colourful. Leaders of the major coalitions including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Oommen Chandy addressed election conventions to wind up their campaigns.

Nine functions

Over the course of three days, the Chief Minister attended as many as nine public functions across the constituency.

The UDF and the NDA, also matched it with their own campaign blitz, led by Oommen Chandy and Sunil Deodhar respectively.

Though the electioneering in the initial phase was primarily focused on the theme of development, it eventually took a bitter turn with the Sabarimala issue and allegations of corruption taking the centre stage.

Rounding off the high-voltage campaign, Mr. Vijayan on Friday took potshots at the UDF for its role in the the Palarivattom Flyover corruption case. This invited prompt responses from the UDF through its senior leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala.

While Mr. Chennithala sought a CBI probe into the alleged corruptions in the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and the Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL), Mr. Chandy contended that the threats to arrest former Public Works Minister Ebrahim Kunju was just an election gimmick. Not to be left behind, the BJP led by senior leader P.K. Krishnadas termed both the LDF and the UDF as two sides of the same coin. The NDA, on its part, also gave a last-minute turn to its campaign by coming up with a blueprint of development for Pala. Now, the focus of the parties will be on reaching out to maximum number of voters through a door-to-door campaign.

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