Suresh Keezhattor won't contest LS polls

Leader of a mass movement against paddy filed filling for National Highway by-pass construction has dropped his plans to contest in the Lok Sabha polls.

Suresh Keezhattoor, leader of the ‘Vayalakilikal’ (birds of paddy field) movement at Keezhattoor near Thalaserry in Kannur district had earlier decided to contest against the mainstream political parties with a single point agenda of raising discussions on environmental issues.

But now, he has decided to keep off from the stir as other members of the Vayalkilikal movement for the time being, wanted to avoid politicisation of the movement.

Instead, they would explore legal options against the paddy landfilling.

Suresh, who was a hardcore CPM activist, was expelled from the party for initiating the stir.

“I decided to contest the polls to raise discussions on environment protection. Despite the floods and drought, no mainstream political parties will raise environmental issues as their only agenda is development. But many members of the Vayalkilikal felt that if I contest in the polls, attempts might be made to create an impression that our stir was aimed at electoral politics. Hence I decided to keep off from the polls now,” Suresh told DH.

Since Kannur would be witnessing a fierce electoral battle between CPM’s sitting MP P K Sreemathi and Congress’s former MP K Sudhakaran, the decision of Suresh to contest the polls was a cause for concern to the main stream parties, who might be heaving a sigh of relief over Suresh’s decision to keep off from the fray.

The BJP has also fielded senior party leader C K Padmanabhan in Kannur.