It’s a prestige issue now in Poonjar. The whirlwind visit of CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan to Poonjar on Tuesday, presumably to reinvigorate a sagging LDF campaign there, has suddenly changed the character of the contest at Poonjar where P.C. George, former Government Chief Whip turned LDF fellow traveller turned Independent, is seeking re-election.
The LDF has fielded P.C. Joseph, Kerala Congress (Democratic) nominee. The segment is witnessing a tight, four-cornered struggle with the UDF fielding Georgekutty Augusthy of KC(M) and NDA allocating the seat to BDJS which has fielded M.R. Ullas, a former CPI(M) activist.
Mr. George has built up good rapport with a section of the CPI(M) leaders both at the local and district level during the local body elections. In fact, he is sharing power with the LDF in Erattupetta municipality, Poonjar Thekkekkara, Poonjar, Erumeli, and Thalanad grama panchayats.
And he had, till the last minute, believed that he would get the LDF label. Mr George’s tactic was to be to drive a wedge into the faultiness in the CPI(M) right from the local level to the State.
However, ultimately, this has cost him the candidature. That he was sharing power with the LDF at the local bodies has, however, created a complex situation which gave rise to the allegation that the local CPI(M) units were soft pedalling his campaign.
Mr. George, in his flamboyant style, says: “Nobody can turn the tide any longer. Even if I try, people will not allow (me to to be defeated). There is no fight here. The fight is for the second and third positions.”
However, the soft spoken Mr. Joseph believes otherwise: “The fight is basically political, between the LDF and the UDF. There is no place for an independent here,” he says. He is banking on the chinks in the UDF armour — the schism in the Congress and the fight within the KC(M).
He believes Pinarayi Vijayan’s visit has helped to put the campaign in order. Meanwhile, the UDF leaders believe that the command system no more works as it did earlier in the CPI(M).
They are banking on a split in the LDF votes which they believe could help their candidate win.
