Corona to King Kong: Kerala Local Polls Throw Up Quirky Aspirants
Nearly 22,000 wards are up for polls, 50 per cent of which have been reserved for women.
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The upcoming local body elections in Kerala – with the first phase of polling on Tuesday, 8 December – are quite interesting as there are several young hopefuls and women candidates in the fray. Some of the names among the candidates in the Kozhikode District from both the Corporation and the district panchayat are very unique for the way they have approached the election.
Kerala’s 2.71 crore eligible voters will head to the polling booths to elect their representatives to 1,199 self-governing local bodies across the state on 8, 10 and 14 December.
The elections are being conducted in three phases, and will serve as a crucial precursor to the Assembly elections next year. Nearly 22,000 wards are up for polls, 50 per cent of which have been reserved for women.
Parties Project More Women Candidates
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is experimenting this time by offering tickets to youngsters, students, women and even Dalits in general category seats. In Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, CPI(M) is contesting 70 seats (out of 100), of which 46 are women candidates.
CPI is contesting 18 seats with seven women in the list, mostly youngsters.
The BJP too has more women candidates than mandated by the fifty per cent reservation rule. They are still finalising the list.
The Congress-led UDF is yet to come up with its list of candidates since it is struggling to resolve conflicts in several districts.
'Corona' Found
This 24-year-old has created quite a flutter with her name: Corona Thomas. She is BJP’s official candidate from the Mathilil ward in Kollam corporation and is a newcomer to politics.
Her parents wished for a unique name and so named their twin girls Corona and Coral. Corona means a circle of light seen around a luminous body in English.
When news about the coronavirus pandemic began circulating, her name received a lot of attention, and she believes she will turn this into her strength, as it has piqued people’s interest. Incidentally, she was diagnosed with COVID-19 over a month back when she gave birth to a beautiful child. Just a month after her delivery, the mother has been on the roads campaigning for support.
In interviews to local channels she joked about how doctors would say ‘They have found corona,’ when she had come to the hospital. This has been a great conversation starter with voters, she was heard saying.
Assamese Candidate in CPM Bastion
Munmi, a native of Lakhimpur in Assam, has been been nominated by the BJP as a candidate in the women-reserved 11th ward of the Iritty municipality, a bastion of the CPI(M).
She moved to Kerala after her marriage with Sajeesh, a daily-wage labourer in Kerala, and has even picked up the local language and tropes of political governance in the state.
Hockey Player Who Turned LDF Candidate
Rekha C, a state women's hockey team player has been projected by LDF in ward no- 64, Eranhipalam, as their candidate.
She has been representing the state for the last seven years
and has always wanted to bring a lot of development related to sports in her area, especially for children.
Rekha C is an economic graduate from St Mary's College, Thrissur.
Youngest Woman Candidate
Reshma Mariyam Roy, who just turned 21, is the CPI(M) candidate in the Aruvappulam panchayat in Pathanamthitta district. If her nomination is accepted, Reshma will be the youngest candidate in the fray.
The CPI(M)-led LDF narrowly lost power in the Aruvappulam panchayat in 2015 to the UDF and the Left plans to wrest control of the local body.
Kerala Has a King Kong Too
Another candidate known for his interesting name is this 57-year-old who introduces himself to voters in the fourth ward of Mararikulam North panchayat in Alappuzha district as King Kong. The candidate is contesting on a Congress ticket and is currently the party mandal vice-president, INTUC mandal president and a member of the Dalit Congress unit.
The Milkwoman-Mayor
Ajitha Vijayan is a common face in her neighbourhood of Kanimangalam in Thrissur district as she has been the regular milk-woman. In 2005, she was elected as a councillor from the ward for Thrissur corporation as a CPI candidate.
In 2018, into her second term as councillor, she was elected as mayor of the corporation. However, the woman continued to personally sell milk packets and managed her official duties.
Law Student Who Campaigns on Her Bike
22-year-old final-year law student Sharuthi P is unlike your regular candidate, hopping on to her Royal Enfield to meet the voters in ward No 1 of Elavanna grama panchayat in Kozhikode.
She is one of the young candidates to contest in the District Panchayat election this year, and has been doing a remarkable job meeting with people in her ward and listening to their grievances. During the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic, she ensured to get supplies for people of her region.
2 Muslim BJP Candidates in Malappuram
TP Sulfath and Ayisha Hussain are contesting on tickets from BJP in Malappuram district (Muslim-majority). Sulfath filed her nomination for the Wandoor grama panchayat from Ward 6 (Shanti-Koottambara) while Ayisha filed her nomination on Thursday for the Ponmundam grama panchayat from Ward 9.
Ayisha’s husband Hussain Varikkottil is a district committee member of the BJP Minority Morcha who is also contesting the Malappuram district panchayat from the Edarikode division under the BJP banner.
The 'Designer' Candidate
Jeeja Sudheesh is the UDF candidate for the 13th ward Kakkodi, under the District panchayat. A designer by profession, she makes eco-friendly posters and ensures she does all the campaigning herself.
V4Kochi
Another new apolitical organisation to look out for is V4Kochi, which has promised 100 per cent transparency in its functioning. The party is fielding candidates in all 74 wards in the corporation.
The organisation has publicised their finances, ensuring to run it in a fully transparent and efficient manner with the help of information technology. They have assured that if elected to power, all files and documents pertaining to the administration of Kochi corporation will be publicised as per the relevant section in the Right to Information Act.
The organisation has an active following of nearly 35,000 people on social media who discuss various issues.
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