Facing 2 rape cases, Kerala MLA Rahul Mamkootathil emerges for first time in 2 weeks to vote in local polls

Several leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Kerala Congress chief Sunny Joseph, also cast their votes.

The first phase on December 9 saw 70.91 percent polling; the second, 74.85 percent. Counting will be held Saturday.

Coming months before the Assembly election, the three-tier polls are crucial for all parties as a test of political mood.

The ruling CPI(M), eyeing a third term, hopes its initiatives over nine years will help. However, the party also reached out to Hindu voters — during the final campaign stretch, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan linked the Congress-led UDF with the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami.

The scandal involving the now expelled Mamkootathil also figured prominently in the CPI(M) campaign.

After voting in Kannur Thursday, Vijayan appeared to refer to both issues — and the Congress’s Sabarimala gold theft allegations — in his remarks.

“Muslim community has rejected the Jamaat-e-Islami,” he told the media. “And what have the womanizers in Congress done? The Sabarimala (theft of gold) is not going to influence the voters. The government has taken stringent action and we have the support of the faithful,” he said.

The Congress-led UDF, struggling to make a comeback after setbacks in 2015 and 2020, has targeted the LDF over its “anti-people policies” over nine years. A major part of its campaign has been the alleged Sabarimala gold theft — missing gold from temple artefacts — to win Hindu voters.

Meanwhile, the BJP has focused on development, with its tagline `Vikasitha Keralam’ – progressive Kerala — and Prime Minister Narendra Modi featuring prominently in an election where local issues usually take precedence.

Retail king MA Yusuff Ali also voted, flying from Bangkok to Kochi in his private jet and then taking a chopper to his native Nattika in Thrissur. He reportedly kept the chopper waiting while he voted. Later, he told the media that voting “shows our commitment to the country’s Constitution”.

“Ours is the largest democratic country. A panchayat member to the prime minister is elected by the people,” he said.

This week, the district court in Thiruvananthapuram anticipatory bail in one of the two cases. This was days after the Kerala High Court had granted him protection from arrest in the other case.