Expelled Congress digital media convener and LDF candidate in the Palakkad assembly bypoll, P Sarin, on Saturday stepped up his poll campaign by visiting leaders of the numerically strong Ezhava community and the forward Nair community in the state, both of which have a significant presence in the central Kerala constituency.
Sarin visited Vellappally Natesan, the general secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam — an outfit representing the numerically strong Ezhava community, and Sukumaran Nair, the general secretary of the Nair Service Society (NSS) — which represents the forward Nair community in the state.
Besides that, the former Congress leader also visited the tomb of party stalwart and former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy, regarding which Sarin said that he often comes there and talks about what he was going to do.
CPI(M) leader M Swaraj said Sarin did not visit Chandy's tomb on the party's direction and that there was nothing wrong with doing so.
On the other hand, Congress MP from Vadakara Shafi Parambil asked why Sarin did not visit tombs or memorials of Left leaders.
"Is it because he was not allowed there?" he asked.
The LDF candidate said that he did not visit Natesan as part of any poll campaign and was there only to safeguard his good relations with the SNDP general secretary.
Regarding his visit to Nair, Sarin said there was no politics behind it.
"I came to seek his blessings and to convince him of the correctness of my politics," he said.
Meanwhile, UDF candidate Rahul Mamkootathil continued his poll campaign by visiting people in the constituency and seeking their votes.
Speaking to a TV channel, he said that a lot of 'namesake Rahuls' have been fielded by the LDF-BJP united front and these were their "actual candidates".
"They (LDF) always stoop to such low tactics in all elections and bypolls, But, people of Palakkad will not fall for such tactics," he added.
He also termed as a "drama" the LDF candidate's visit to various political leaders or their memorials.
"I did not see anyone visit memorials of EK Nayanar or EMS Namboodiripad or visit VS Achuthanandan on his recent birthday, despite all three being former Kerala CMs from Palakkad. So the visits to memorials of other political leaders is a CPI(M) drama," Mamkootathil said.
BJP's C Krishnakumar is also actively campaigning in the bypoll by meeting people in the constituency.
The bypoll in the Palakkad assembly seat was necessitated after Congress's Shafi Parambil vacated it after being elected to the Lok Sabha from the Vadakara constituency.
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