Whirlwind roadshows, political tit-for-tats, and a fresh cycle of controversies marked Tuesday, the penultimate day of the Lok Sabha electioneering in the State.
Candidates of opposing fronts vied with each other to cover maximum ground, crisscrossing their respective constituencies in gaudily decorated open vehicles heralded by flag-bearing outriders and announcement vans.
With election day just 48 hours away, candidates fanned out across crucial neighbourhoods and made duelling campaign appearances across the State.
Candidates of rival fronts often converged on the same spot within minutes of each other, signalling the frantic pace of the campaign, amplified by live television coverage and seemingly calibrated to cover electioneering blind spots.
The day also had its fair share of controversies. A self-styled political powerbroker, T.G. Nandakumar, alias “Dalal” Nandakumar, widely reckoned as the BJP’s bugbear, emerged from the shadows to target the party’s two high-profile candidates.
Mr. Nandakumar flaunted “evidence” that he had paid the BJP candidate from Pathanamthitta and Congress defector Anil K. Antony, ₹25 lakhs for a political posting when the latter’s father, A.K. Antony, was Defence Minister in the second UPA government.
Mr. Anil Antony accused Mr. Nandakumar of acting as Congress leadership’s catspaw.
Mr. Nandakumar also targeted the BJP’s political firebrand and candidate from Alappuzha, Shobha Surendran, accusing her of accepting ₹10 lakhs from him. Ms. Surendran said the above-board bank transaction was part of a property sale agreement that did not pan out.
She countered that Mr. Nandakumar had promised the defection of a top CPI(M) leader to the BJP in exchange for a hefty sum and a lucrative political posting.
The Congress and CPI(M) also clashed over LDF independent legislator P.V. Anvar’s allegedly derogatory comments about Rahul Gandhi.
The KPCC has moved the Election Commission against Mr. Anvar. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan retorted that Mr. Gandhi should have accepted a riposte for his attacks on the LDF.
Congress candidate from Vadakara Shafi Parambil moved the police against his CPI(M) rival K.K. Shailaja, accusing her of running a defamatory campaign.
The LDF and UDF campaigns continued to hammer the NDA over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegedly “anti-Muslim” posturing at election rallies for the third consecutive day, believing that their separate messaging would resonate with the sizeable section of minority voters in the State.
