Marooned by a red river

Its misfortune is that it is right across the waters from Kudamathoor, a Red party village where no leaf turns without the CPIM8217;s say. Unfortunately, they happen to be on the wrong side of the political divide in an area where no other political party is tolerated or encouraged. Most are Muslim Leaguers or Congress workers, with some BSP sympathisers thrown in, and the only place they can vote is in a booth in Red Kudamathoor.

Result: Not many of them have ever voted, or dared to try. Those that do risk getting beaten up by the comrades and ordered back before reaching the booths. Even if they manage to fool local CPIM apparatchiks keeping watch at the canoe landing point by passing for party workers, and then walking another couple of kilometres to get to the polling station.

No wonder, Koralayi is a place where cordons of policemen wielding automatic rifles routinely escort voters, who insist on voting, to and from the polling booth across the river. 8216;8216;But only our women who don8217;t need to keep leaving the islet vote that way. The men are scared of being identified and beaten up later,8217;8217; says school teacher T Assainar. Not that the comrades often allow as much. As during the previous panchayat poll.8216;8216;They rowed into the island in many canoes, burnt down shops, destroyed my home, sunk my neighbour Moosa Haji8217;s canoe, created a lot of trouble. They even attacked our women, several were in the hospital,8217;8217; Assainar adds.

8216;8216;We got word out to the CPIM8217;s local secretary in Kudamathoor, asking for protection. He agreed to come and see us, but his own workers did not allow him to board the canoe to come,8217;8217; according to Assainar. T A Majeed, another local school teacher, says many of them have decided not to vote this poll. 8216;8216;What8217;s the use? In any case we are part of a Red constituency where no other party can win. So why get beaten up for no reason?8217;8217; he asks.

Chandran, a local Harijan leader, and others say they had been pleading with the government for years now to get a polling booth allotted within their islet, but to no avail. 8216;8216;The revenue officials called the representatives of all local parties for a hearing. Almost all the parties said it was necessary, but the CPIM opposed it saying it is a waste of funds. Nothing happened afterwards,8217;8217; he says.

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