Some candidates, in a bid to connect with voters on a personal level, climbed atop towering cranes to address the crowd of party supporters who gathered in hundreds.
Others opted for a more traditional yet equally eye-catching approach, leading massive rallies while adorned in resplendent attire.
As the curtains fell on Wednesday, marking the conclusion of the over-month-long, high-octane public campaigning for the April 26 Lok Sabha polls, Kerala bore witness to a series of extraordinary scenes and unprecedented campaign maneuvers orchestrated by candidates and party workers on the final day.
Candidates wrapped up their final outdoor campaigning by touring major centres of the constituency, meeting voters, and reassuring their votes.
The high-spirited finale of the open campaign was marked by hundreds of activists from various parties converging at particular places in each constituency, showcasing their strength by playing songs aloud, raising thunderous slogans, waving party flags, and distributing pamphlets.
In Thiruvananthapuram constituency, which witnesses a fierce three-cornered contest, the finale of the open campaigning was a total jamboree.
At the bustling Peroorkkada junction, the Congress’s incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor and BJP nominee Rajeev Chandrasekhar stood atop the extended arms of two nearby cranes.
Tharoor was accompanied by Achu Oommen, daughter of the late Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, while Chandrasekhar was joined by local BJP leaders.
Both of them waved at party workers gathered, from atop the parked cranes.
LDF nominee Pannyan Raveendran led a massive rally of party activists wearing an oversize red colour crown.
In several places, the party workers could be seen carrying respective candidates on their shoulders and raising slogans.
Places like Thodupuzha, Neyyattinkara, Karunagappally and Malappuram saw minor scuffles between rival party workers over various issues, but timely interventions by police helped avert tension.
Even the final day of electioneering was marked by the presence of various national leaders in the state, including Home Minister Amit Shah, AICC Chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who addressed public meetings in various constituencies.
On Thursday, there will be a silent campaign before the state votes on April 26.
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