Kerala assembly polls 2021: Unquiet flows the Kallada

PATHANAPURAM: “Where is the Taluk Hospital you promised?” screams a giant hoarding of Jyothykumar Chamakkala on the busy Kollam-Madurai Highway, criss-crossing the Pathanapuram constituency. Such imaginative, if not provocative, posters have come up all across the constituency where Chamakkala, the United Democratic Front candidate, is taking on Left Democratic Front’s KB Ganesh Kumar.


Carpet-bombing the constituency, Chamakkala has caused a kerfuffle of sorts in the minds of voters. For the uninitiated, Pathanapuram is a bastion of Ganesh (MLA since 2001) despite switching from UDF to LDF before the 2016 Assembly polls. Few have nurtured the constituency like Ganesh, representing Kerala Congress (B), has in the last 20 years and it’s all there to be seen: be it roads (dubbed mini-highways), schools, libraries, primary health centres, potable water supply, and more importantly bridges (seven of them on the Kallada river alone).

Ganesh has probably ticked all the right boxes and his popularity – despite many personal controversies– seems to be intact. Having said that, Chamakkala’s audacious blitz has evoked a ripple effect, reinvigorating the Congress-led UDF to “even think about the unthinkable”.

The Chamakkala blitzkrieg hasn’t rattled Ganesh, but he is surprised. “Suddenly, someone is walking in and uttering many things. I really don’t understand when he says there has been no development in Pathanapuram. The whole of Kerala talks about the work I have done in the constituency,” says Ganesh. Baulks Chamakkala: “Of course, in an election, we talk about development. I am not saying he has not done anything, but he has not done what has been promised. What about his 2016 poll manifesto? This is the only taluk headquarters without a taluk hospital. Be it the police station at Pattazhy, or solid waste management plants in panchayats, he has not delivered. Where are the industries and job opportunities? I challenge him for an open debate anytime, anywhere.”

Terming the allegations an election stunt, Ganesh says development is all about “basic amenities”. “People are worried about their basic needs, be it water, roads, or even transport. My focus has always been that and it’s there to be seen. Also, the last tenure has been the most productive with Rs 600-crore developmental work executed here,” says Ganesh Kumar, who has been increasing his majority in every election. If it was 9,931 in 2001, it steadily increased to 11,814, 20,402 and 24,562 in 2006, 2011 and 2016 respectively. The contentious Taluk Hospital, he clarifies, is being built on a two-acre plot on a budget of Rs 80 crore.

Why did Chamakkala pick Pathanapuram when there were relatively easier constituencies elsewhere? “It’s a political decision. UDF leaders were discussing multiple options, but I preferred Pathanapuram. Candidate aside, from 2001 to 2011, voters chose a candidate of UDF. I have been working here for the last four years. The plan is to wrest Pathanapuram back from LDF,” says Chamakkala. Bombarding the constituency with hoardings and graffiti is part of a clear strategy, he says. “Every constituency needs different strategies. In some places, you need to be upfront to send across strong political points.”

Suspecting a plot, Ganesh says “so much money is pouring in” to divert the developmental narrative. “I have seen richer candidates contest elections. For instance, my father [ex-minister R Balakrishna Pillai] was one of the richest candidates in the district itself, but he never splurged money like this on any election. From where is the money being thrown in? Even the number of hoardings and graffiti is way beyond the prescribed limit. Let EC take a look,” he says.

To his credit, Chamakkala refuses to attack Ganesh Kumar on personal issues. “I repeat, it’s a political contest and there is no question of mud-slinging. From the feedback I get, I am confident of winning this time,” he says.

Never before has a Congress candidate created such a flutter in Pathanapuram. Is it the toughest fight ever in Ganesh Kumar, 20-year-old political career? “Every election is tough and I must say there is no room for complacency. Just through publicity, a perception of a close fight has been created. I have trust in my electorate and my margin will go up this time too,” he contends.

Not many are talking about BJP’s Jitin Dev, but he will be looking to up the party’s vote share. Chamakkala has managed to push open the sluice gates but the Kallada River seems to be flowing quite steadily. Or are there any undercurrents?


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