JOIN USAchuthanandan still seen on CPM's posters at Malampuzha
CPM veteran leader V S Achuthanandan, who was CPM-led LDF's poster boy in the last Assembly election in Kerala, has almost vanished from electioneering this time as he is struggling with age-related health issues.
He may not be campaigning, but posters of Achuthanandan at Malampuzha in Palakkad district, his seat, have been spotted. The 97-year-old leader is eclipsing the current CPM candidate, A Prabhakaran, who is not seen without Achuthanandan's picture. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who has now emerged as the undisputed leader of the CPM and LDF, has also been seen on the posters.
Achuthanandan, who was Kerala Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011, won for the fourth consecutive time from Malampuzha in 2016 with a thumping majority of 27,000 votes, up from just around 4,700 in 2001. His majority was close to 23,000 in 2011 and 20,000 in 2006. The constituency is considered as a stronghold of CPM as senior leaders like former Chief Minister E K Nayanar and former minister T Sivadasa Menon have earlier won from the seat.
However, this time the BJP is also pinning its hopes on the constituency as party state general secretary C Krishnakumar came in second place in 2016 polls from the seat. The party is also picking up positive trends from the recent local body elections.
The CPM, on the other hand, is banking upon Achuthanandan's legacy and believes it would be difficult for other parties to defeat that. Prabhakaran, who comes from a trade union background, may be able to retain CPM's stronghold.
Even as the Congress initially allotted the seat to its not so prominent ally Bharathiya National Janata Dal, the decision had to be revoked as it triggered allegations of helping BJP. S K Anandakrishnan, who also comes from a trade union background, is the present Congress candidate of Malampuzha.