There was sparkle in his voice when Mukesh spoke shortly after he was declared the winner from the Kollam constituency on Thursday afternoon.
Understandably so, since he had just become the first film star to win in the six-decade-old history of the Kerala Assembly elections.
Another actor, K.B. Ganesh Kumar had debuted and won much earlier, but he had taken the plunge more as the heir apparent of seasoned politician K. Balakrishna Pillai in Pathanapuram. So it was Innocent’s remarkable victory at Chalakudy in the 2014 Parliament election that had enthused Mukesh more.
“Innocent had told me that I could consider contesting in the Assembly Election,” Mukesh told The Hindu . “I was considered by the party [CPI (M)] in the past too,’’ he says.
He hoped his victory would inspire more actors and artists even from other fields to enter politics. “I was not the only actor who contested in this election, and KPAC Lalitha was also in the race to be a candidate (at Vadakkanchery),” remarked Mukesh. “I have to say that my colleague in cinema, Jagadeesh (Congress), did put up a very good fight at Pathanapuram, though he lost to Ganesh.”
At Pathanapuram, the other main contender too was a star — Bheeman Raghu, whom the BJP fielded, who finished third. The BJP had also fielded two movie directors — Rajasenan at Aruvikkara and Ali Akbar at Koduvally. Both finished third.
Several top stars and popular musicians were conspicuous at the campaigns of all the three fronts.
Movie stars apart, if the BJP fielded cricketer S. Sreesanth in Thiruvananthapram, the CPI (M) had two television journalists as its candidates, M.V. Nikesh Kumar, who finished second at Azhikode, and Veena George, who won at Aranmula.
