Three-way contest in Ulloor; locals feel their needs ignored

Johnson Joseph, a veteran councillor and the eldest candidate, who could probably be the UDF’s candidate for mayor if the front wins said: “Ulloor is my native place and people know me for what I am.” Renovation of Ulloor market will be his priority. The badly gutted roads will be his other main priority. “Then there are drainage issues, which has worsened during the rains, and of course the need to clean and restore our water bodies,” Johnson said.

LDF candidate S Anilkumar, also a veteran in local politics, too oozes confidence. Anilkumar was earlier the vice president of Ulloor panchayat and ward councillor of Medical College and Aakkulam wards. He too views the Ulloor market as the ward’s ticket to prosperity. “The project will be revived and I will change the face of Ulloor,” he said.

He advocates a more scientific approach. “The development of a ward should be planned according to the lay of the land, its resources and its population density,” he said.

The BJP, riding high on the exploits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, feels it has now acquired the right to stand on the same footing as that of the other two fronts.

Changing political equations, too, have given the party confidence. Last time, BJP candidate R Mahendrababu said that the LDF had secured 136 votes with the help of SNDP support; a clear hint that these votes will swing in his favour this time.

People of Ulloor, it seems, know what they lack. “There is no proper place for dumping waste, drainage is overflowing,” Rajesh, a local resident said. Michael, another local resident who met with an accident recently, fumed: “It is a miracle if you move around roads in Ulloor without harming yourself.”