Since its formation in 2011, the Thrikkakara constituency has only sent Congress candidates to the State Assembly. Isn’t the high-voltage campaign by the Left, therefore, pointless?
It’s wrong to assume that anyone has a monopoly on any constituency. The people of Kerala, who are politically aware, aren’t anyone’s captive force. A victory here will further strengthen the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s efforts to develop Kerala in such a manner that it gets global attention. What has been envisioned is a Kerala without homeless or unemployed people and one that excels financially, educationally, in the health sector and in industrial growth. Infrastructure development is a pre-requisite for this. And the all-round development of Kochi region is pivotal to attaining these goals.
Did the Church play a role in deciding the LDF candidate, as alleged by the United Democratic Front (UDF)?
We chose to field a doctor of repute and with wide acceptance. Our society has a large section of doctors, engineers, scientists, and other professionals. To say they shouldn’t be part of our polity is a parochial approach. The fact is that the announcement of Dr. Jo Joseph as our candidate rattled the UDF, forcing it to level wild allegations dragging religious institutions into them. Isn’t it a wrong approach towards religious institutions and priests? Such narrow-minded politics accusing religious institutions of taking political sides is wrong. It should instead do a political campaign.
The Congress sees the Chief Minister’s remark about this byelection as an opportunity for the voters of Thrikkakara to correct their mistake as an affront to the late legislator P.T. Thomas...
The CM did not say anything about the deceased [legislator]. What he said unambiguously was that the Left could not win the constituency last time and that this is a chance for the voters to be on the correct side.
While the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project is up on the list of projects being paraded by the LDF, the K-Rail authorities have reportedly halted survey-stone laying for the project in Ernakulam district in view of the byelection.
Nothing has stopped. It’s one of the projects most needed by the State for its growth and development and the people know that fact.
Several leaders, including Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K. Sudhakaran, say that K.V. Thomas, who attended the LDF campaign the other day, is irrelevant and without any following. How does the Left gain from his arrival?
Are they saying that Congress leaders are without any stature? Is it alright to belittle him just because he’s out of the party now? He was a member of the AICC and had held several senior positions. He took a liking to the development agenda of the Left and the way of functioning of the CM. He did not come seeking any position. It was a political stance taken by him. P.C. Chacko was another senior leader who left the Congress to work with the LDF. They are all leaders who took an enlightened political stance when the Congress allowed itself to rot. That party is rudderless and weak.
What do you offer Thrikkakara?
The UDF, which has represented the constituency all along, has been the biggest hindrance to Thrikkakara’s development. There are issues of drinking water and waste management. Transport is another thorny issue and the UDF representatives from the region have not done anything to get the Kochi Metro extended to Kakkanad. The constituency needs a facelift and that’s what we are aiming at.
