Even as youngsters are considered to be more vibrant, when it comes to Puthupally in the Kottayam district of Kerala, it is 77 years old Oommen Chandy who seems to be more vibrant than his 26-year-old rival in the Assembly election.
The former chief minister, Chandy, who completed 50 years as MLA in a row last year, is the senior-most MLA in the fray this time. He is taking on Jaick C Thomas, a Students Federation of India leader hailing from Manarcaud, which also comes under the Puthuppally constituency. He has been deputed by the CPM against Chandy for the second consecutive term
For the people of Puthuppally Chandy is still as vibrant as a youngster and hence they feel that Jaick won't pose any threat to Chandy who used to win with a thumping majority over the last five decades - a majority of over 27,000 in 2016.
Mathew K Varghese, a young voter of Puthuppally, said that Chandy's age doesn't matter at all as he was more vibrant than his young rival. Chandy is with the people of Puthuppally round the clock and his age was not at all a barrier. Hence there was no question of the people opting for another person in the place of Chandy now.
Chandy's connection with the people was quite evident as people of the constituency used to make a beeline to his house right from the early hours of Sundays as he would be definitely available there on Sundays and he would not make people return hopelessly. Chandy could be seen moving among the crowd listening to the grievances of the people and he could be able to identify most of them by their name itself.
"Every household of Puthuppally could have received one or other help from Chandy and hence he need not even campaign for votes. For me, Chandy only helped in getting admission for my son for a vocational course," said Sabu Thomas, security of the church at Puthuppally where Chandy regularly attends Sunday mass. Chandy took part in the Palm Sunday mass amidst the election rush.
While the people of Puthuppally have no doubt of Chandy's victory, the seasoned politician did not want to take things lightly. "At all elections, there will be a contest and it is the people's mandate. Anyway, this time there were no concerns for the Congress-led UDF across Kerala, " said Chandy.
When pointed out that most of the pre-poll surveys were predicting the upper hand for the CPM-led Left Democratic Front, Chandy said that the pre-poll surveys indeed helped in energising the Congress cadres. It served as a warning message to the party workers and they were now working relentlessly to ensure UDF's victory. Hence we should be thanking the pre-poll surveys, said Chandy
Chandy, who is known for his political strategies, was even made the chairman of the Election Management and Strategy Committee of the UDF. If the UDF returns to power Chandy even has high chances for a third term as Chief Minister.
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