Anti-government mood to help P K Kunhalikutty

MALAPPURAM: As the electioneering set to conclude on Tuesday, the anti-government mood generated by the police handling of the protest launched by Mahija, the mother of Jishnu Pranoy, has visibly translated into an additional advantage for the UDF candidate P.K Kunhalikutty over his rival LDF in the Malappuram Lok Sabha by election. The issue, which took an unforeseen turn in the midst of poll campaigning in the constituency, has put the LDF camp on the defensive during the final lap besides others including the first ever cancellation of an SSLC examination in the history.

Senior LDF leaders who have camped in Malappuram for the electioneering had to comment on the issue whenever they faced the media.  Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s first public comment on the issue was during his campaigning in Malappuram, a day after Mahija and kin were blocked by the police in front of the state police headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. His soothing words did not go well with the people. Instead, it was seen as a justification of the police action. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said on Sunday that the party too wants to settle the issue. At the same time senior CPM leader and former CM V.S. Achuthanandan deliberately avoided commenting on the issue during his two days of electioneering at various parts of the constituency.

The Jishnu case was the highlight of all the speeches of the Congress and the Muslim League leaders during the past four days of the campaign. The UDF has tried its best to reap the benefit of it in the poll. During their campaigning in Malappuram, both the Muslim League state president Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal and former chief minister Oommen Chandy had gone to visit Jishu’s sister Avishna who was on hunger strike at home.