High-voltage fight at Kerala's Vadakara; Cyber allegations backfires on Shailaja

Vadakara: Despite the allegations of sexiest cyber attacks by Congress camps against CPI(M) candidate former health minister K K Shailaja at Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency in Kozhikode-Kannur border areas of Kerala, rival candidate Shafi Parambil of the Congress seems to be retaining his mass support as people in large numbers, including women and children, could be seen cheering up him as he campaigns at the Kuttiyadi regions the other day.

Now Shafi is even managing to make the allegations backfire on Shailaja as she backtracked from her charges that Congress camps brought out morphed porn videos to insult her.

While Shailaja turned emotional while raising the allegations against Shafi last week, now Shafi is also replying on the cards by accusing Shailaja of bringing his mother too to the picture. He had also initiated legal steps against Shailaja for the "baseless allegations."

While raising the allegation Shailaja had asked whether Shafi's mother would tolerate such cyber attacks against women. Subsequently there were also cyber attacks targeting Shafi's family. This provoked Shafi to make the counter move as Shailaja herself backtracked from her earlier statement that morphed pron videos insulting her were being circulated.

A large section of Shafi's supporters seem to be  ignoring the allegations. "Everyone knows all these are politics. Such allegations would not dent our firm support to Shafi,"a group of women who were eagerly watching Shafi's election campaign near Midiyeri in Kuttiyadi told DH.

Shafi,aged 41, seems to be getting more support from youngsters than Shailaja who is 67.

At the same time, Shailaja, who had earned much goodwill and received international honours for leading the fight against Covid-19 and NIPAH as health minister in the previous CPI(M) government, is also drawing huge support.

Vadakara constituency comprises CPI(M)'s strongholds like Thalassery and Kuthuparamba of Kannur also. But the CPI(M) lost its grip on the constituency following the brutal murder of CPI(M) dissident leader T P Chandrasekharan in 2012. The recent court verdict implicating more CPI(M) local leaders in the Chandrasekharan's murder case as well as the recent blast at a country bomb making unit in the region that claimed the life of a CPI(M)'s youth activist and caused injuries to CPI(M) youth activists involved in the bomb making have also become adverse to the CPI(M).

Both Shafi and Shailaja are sitting MLAs. Shafi's entry as Congress candidate of Vadakara replacing sitting MP K Muraleedharan was a surprise move of the Congress.