Wayanad is the only district where his Democratic Indira Congress-Karunakaran (DIC-K) jointly with the LDF won the recently-held local body polls.
SULTAN BATHERI: If the mood in farm crisis-hit Wayanad is any indication, the green, serene district is heading for a radical political change. In the news for farmer suicides, the district seems to be tilting in favour of the opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidates.
For long Wayanad has steadfastly stood by the Congress, especially former chief minister K Karunakaran. It is the only district where his Democratic Indira Congress-Karunakaran (DIC-K) jointly with the LDF won the recently-held local body polls.
But now it is giving every indication that Karunakaran, who is currently with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), is losing his grip ahead of Saturday’s poll. A strong resentment is visible against DIC-K and its legislators who had quit the assembly following a split from the parental Congress last year. Karunakaran’s party returned to the UDF just ahead of the assembly poll after the CPI-M refused to forge an alliance with it.
In Sultan Batheri, which shares the border with Karnataka and got its name from being the first military base for Mysore warrior Tipu Sultan, DIC-K candidate ND Appachan is one such legislator who has drawn the ire of voters.
“We do not have anything against Appachan. But we cannot vote for him when we are reminded of Karunakaran’s face,” Jose Mathew, a farmer in Poothadi village, said. Another farmer, T George said: “Karunakaran wanted to turn the Congress into a party of his family members.Do they care for us?”
Almost every single voter in this lush green village close to the forests has a tale of agony and misery to tell. This is the same village where more than 12 farmers committed suicide recently because of an agricultural crisis. Official records indicate that at least 194 farmers caught in a debt trap ended their lives in the last four years, unofficial reports say the death toll is 468.
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