4 min readPuthuppallyMar 25, 2021 04:05 PM IST
First published on: Mar 25, 2021 at 04:30 AM IST
It’s 7:30 am and there is barely anyone up and about at Puthuppally in the rubber heartland of central Kerala. However, Karottu Vallakkalil, the house of the town’s most popular resident, is buzzing. Visitors stream in and out while, in a rather small office, Oommen Chandy, the former chief minister and among the tallest Congress leaders in Kerala, goes through a sheaf of papers, attends calls on multiple phones, and gives instructions.
At 77, Chandy is fighting one of the toughest elections for his party, which is up against a popular LDF government and a growing BJP. The Congress a divided house, he is among its chief fire-fighters, with allies, religious and community leaders.
Puthuppally has now voted Chandy 11 times consecutively, starting 1970. A 12th win from Puthuppally would equal the record of the late K M Mani.
This time, standing against Chandy are Jaick C Thomas, 31, former state president of CPM students’ wing SFI, and N Hari, ex-district president of the BJP.
Former SFI state president and CPM candidate Jaik C Thomas campaigning in Puthupally. (Express Photo)
Chandy says the LDF came to power in 2016 alleging rampant corruption by his government. “But in five years, they have (found) nothing.” He also refutes the Pinarayi Vijayan government’s plank of development, saying in Kerala, every party in power had done work. “During K Karunakaran’s time, there was Nedumbassery airport, stadium. Under A K Antony, there was progress in Thiruvananthapuram. During the last UDF government, we had Vizhinjam port, Kannur airport, Kochi Metro…”
However, on the ground, there are many people appreciative of the Vijayan government’s track record in Puthuppally. This gives the CPM’s Thomas confidence, apart from results of the local body polls where the CPM took six of the eight panchayat seats in Puthuppally.
The BJP’s Hari is expected to be a distant third, with the party getting 11% of votes in 2016.
Playing down the local body results, Chandy says, “The LDF has always had an upper hand in these elections because the UDF ends up with a lot of rebels.”
Chandy lists some of the new candidates who hold promise for the Congress, such as T H Firoz Babu from Shoranur, and says people are responding to Rahul Gandhi’s guarantee of NYAY, a minimum income scheme.
In Puthuppally though, the overriding factor is the bond with Chandy — especially his accessibility, despite his seniority.
Kurian, who runs a ration shop, says, “You can walk up to his house any time. If he can help, he will. Or say no with a smile. This makes him acceptable to most, even the Left.”
A childhood friend of Chandy adds, “Even at his age, he remembers people by their names.”
Girija Krishnankutty, who sells lottery tickets, says she got a house under a government scheme and a power connection after meeting Chandy. “He personally followed up the matter.”
Thomas, on the other hand, has been persistently working on the ground since his defeat to Chandy in 2016. In an admission of Chandy’s popularity perhaps, Thomas says, “We don’t see elections as a contest between individuals. We talk about a brand of politics — the secular stand of the LDF, local problems. In the local body elections… more than half the voters chose the Left… and that’s a historic milestone.”
Chandy vs young rival in seat won by him 11 times. (Express Photo) 
Former SFI state president and CPM candidate Jaik C Thomas campaigning in Puthupally. (Express Photo)
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