Thrikkakara goes to polls today; stage set for triangular contest
THE THREE MAJOR POLITICAL FRONTS, THE LDF, THE UDF AND THE NDA, HAVE EXPRESSED CONFIDENCE IN WINNING THE SEAT
KOCHI: As the Thrikkakara constituency here is all set to go for polling on May 31 for the byelection, the three major political fronts -- the LDF, the UDF and the NDA -- in Kerala have expressed confidence in winning the seat for which the high-octane campaign had ended on Sunday.
While the ruling Left Democratic Front candidate, Dr Jo Joseph, believes that the voters of Thrikkakara, which is a traditional Congress bastion, will opt for a positive change and elect a ruling party MLA, the United Democratic Front candidate, Uma Thomas, said the constituency will be retained by her party.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate A N Radhakrishnan is confident that with the support of senior politician P C George, who was recently arrested and released on bail in two hate speech cases, the National Democratic Front will win the polls.
“Ernakulam is an economic hub of Kerala and Thrikkakara is one of the most important constituencies here. But Thrikkakara does not have the proportionate development. Since its formation, the constituency has been ruled by the UDF. The Left government got a second term because of the developmental agenda. So, the people of Thrikkakara have understood this and will vote for the Left,” Joseph told PTI.
Uma Thomas, widow of former MLA P T Thomas, told PTI that she would like to carry forward the development dreams of her late husband.
“First of all, this is a UDF constituency. Secondly, this constituency was well looked after by PT (Thomas). This byelection was necessitated by his untimely death. He used to meet the people and used to take proactive steps for them. PT was like a family member for the people here. It’s a huge factor,” Uma said, expressing confidence that she will win the bypoll.
Uma said she entered into the fray because the party workers urged her to take over her husband’s development plans for the constituency.
“I want to continue what PT had started. I will follow his footsteps and policies. I have 100 per cent confidence that I will win this election. All the party workers have efficiently worked for the election here,” she said.
LDF’s Joseph said the result of this election was not going to affect the government which was already ruling with a massive majority of 99 seats in the 140-seat assembly.