It was 9.29 am on Saturday when the doors of the Pinarayi Convention centre opened. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan walked into the venue to attend the press conference scheduled at.9.30 am. Sharp at 10 am, he wound up the briefing and proceeded to the first campaign venue of the day in his constituency Dharmadam in Kannur district.
Apart from being prompt, Vijayan does not keep people waiting. He makes it a point to limit his speeches to minimum points. Public attendance for local election meetings of parties is not impressive these days, but for Vijayan's local level meetings, there is a considerable crowd, especially at CPM citadels popularly known as party villages.
With hardly two days left for the Assembly polls, Vijayan, who is seeking a mandate from his home constituency for the second consecutive term, clarifies the fresh allegations against his government regarding solar power purchase deal with the Adani Group by terming it 'baseless' and cautions the voters to be vigilant about 'BJP-Congress nexus' to defeat the CPM-led LDF.
"The LDF will close BJP's account in Kerala by defeating the saffron party in its lone sitting seat Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram. The Congress-led UDF has become undesirable for the people of Kerala owing to its deeds," Vijayan reiterates at every venue.
Welfare initiatives of the LDF government like enhancing the social welfare pensions and free ration kits during Covid lockdown and development initiatives are also being highlighted by Vijayan during his campaign and through posters.
Children to aged persons gather for the campaigns of Vijayan. Vijayan finds time to greet the children and write autographs for them.
Mohanan, a native of Vijayan's home town Pinarayi, which is around 20 kilometres from Kannur city, says that Vijayan would only increase his margin, which was over 37,000 last time. Even after being the chief minister, he ensured the development of the constituency and welfare of his voters.
Most voters in Pinarayi share the same view, but some CPM followers say that Vijayan is dominating the party and not allowing others to be above him. Many senior CPM leaders like Industries Minister E P Jayarajan are overtly and covertly expressing their resentment. This should have been avoided, lamented a party supporter who preferred anonymity.
Vijayan, who was earlier elected to the Assembly four times from Kuthuparamba and Payyanur constituencies in Kannur, is taking on C Raghunath of the Congress and BJP former state President C K Padmanabhan now.
Pinarayi Vijayan is being widely termed by his supporters as ‘Captain’ with many hoardings reflecting this. This has not gone down well with party senior leaders. CPM former General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters recently that 'Captain' was not an official line of the party, but just a coinage by party young supporters for campaigning.
Vijayan told reporters on Saturday that the attempts to make a controversy out of the 'Captain' usage won't work as it was just part of the election campaign.