Thiruvananthapuram: The residents of the city will have to brace for the 'writings on the wall' as the major political fronts have started 'booking' the walls to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections due in May next year. Since the campaigners generally avoid walls with 'Stick no bills' boards, the residents are also preparing to ward of the assaults on their spaces.
But the political parties will leave no stone unturned or no vacant space unfilled to ensure the visibility of their candidates and woo the voters. Though the parties have not officially started wall bookings, the booth committees have taken up the task in right earnest.
Mr Neyyatinkara Sanal, Thiruvananthapuram DCC president, told DC that the booth committees will be strengthened for the elections.
"There are 2,715 booth committees in Thiruvananthapuram district and 1,131 in the Lok Sabha constituency. Local booth committee leaders have started booking the walls before their rival parties do it," he said.
The DCC has so far not paid any funds to the booth committees to do the preliminary campaign work. Congress MLA K. Muraleedharan had taken charge as chairman of the election campaign committee on Friday and started initial work. The BJP district leadership has entrusted its 1, 280 booth committees in the city and over 2,300 in the district to book at least five walls each for their candidate.
"We have pancharatna, a five-member committee, which decides about the campaign. Our booth committees have become active for the LS elections," said Mr S. Suresh, BJP district president.
The LDF has allotted Thiruvananthapuram seat to the CPI. Mr G. R. Anil, Thiruvananthapuram district secretary of the CPI, told DC that they were appointing 1,351 booth-level agents (BLA) in each committee.
"We are completing the voters' table and tabulating additions and deletions. We have already formed 1,351 booth committees in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency," he said.
