After a month of gruelling electioneering under the summer sun, candidates and their poll managers have to wait for another month to get results.
April is certainly the cruellest of months for politicians in Kerala. So is half of May. After a month of gruelling electioneering under the summer sun, candidates and their poll managers have to wait for another month to get results. They can only envy the vacationing schoolboys, splashing it up before the exam results are out. Most of the leaders are back to the grind.
Defence minister AK Antony and overseas Indians affairs minister Vayalar Ravi are back in office after spearheading Congress’ campaign against the Left Democratic Front in Kerala. Union minister of state for external affairs E Ahmed, the Muslim League candidate in Malapuram, has flown to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to sign a Haj agreement. He has an assignment in Cuba later this month.
Former UN under-secretary-general Shashi Tharoor has high hopes for Thiruvananthapuram seat, where he contested as a Congress candidate. With hardly a week of rest, he will hit the campaign trail in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“No break, alas — I had to leave for Kochi immediately after the election to appear before the court on the false case filed against me for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem, and am now back in Trivandrum for a number of thank-you meetings.
“Tomorrow I go to Mumbai to campaign for Milind Deora and I have a combination of long-scheduled commitments, plus campaign appearances, till the end of the month. On May 2, I go to NY to see my wife after more than two months, returning to Thiruvananthapuram May 12, a few days before the results. I believe we will see a UDF (United Democratic Front) wave,” he said.
The CPI(M) leaders look more concerned with issues within the party and the front it leads. Statistics suggest it will get at least 10 seats. Party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan beamed confidence: “We will improve our performance in 2004.”
LDF swept 18 of the 20 seats in 2004. Vijayan, who is in Kannur, said he was busy with party work as usual. Chief minister VS Achuthanandan and his colleagues in the cabinet are busy with office works and public meetings.
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