KOCHI: The sleepy Paravur constituency in Ernakulam district is readying for a high-voltage contest between sitting MLA V D Satheesan of the UDF and Sarada Mohan, daughter of former Chief Minister P K Vasudevan Nair, of the LDF.
Sarada is the candidate of CPI while Satheesan seeks a third term on Congress ticket. Sarada currently represents Kalady division in Ernakulam district panchayat and her candidature has come as a surprise against a widely anticipated name of former MLA of CPI in the same constituency P. Raju who is currently the party district secretary.
Sarada is basking in on the factor of being the daughter of PKV who had a clean image as a public servant while Satheesan is harping on the development work he has done in the constituency over the years. The roads are good while novel initiatives in educational, food safety, labour and tourism sectors have been brought during his tenure.
The factor that works against Sarada is the not-so-good relationship between CPM and CPI and the bickering in CPI over denial of seat to P Raju while Satheesan has antagonized Hindutva forces and SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappalli Natesan and his stand on the use of Devaswom board funds too had ignited controversy. Ezhava community is a major presence in the constituency.
However, Satheesan commands respect for his stern stands. In last election, Satheesan defeated CPI stalwart Pannyan Raveendran with a margin of 11,349 votes while the LDF had a slight edge in the recent local body elections. BJP scored around 20,000 votes in the local body election in the constituency.
Sarada’s roots are in Pulluvazhi in Perumbavoor and hence cannot hope to strike a personal chord with voters in Paravur. The seat is for BDJS in NDA alliance and Hari Vijayan contests on the party ticket.
