PINARAYI (KANNUR): The well-oiled machinery of the BJP was in action as its Janaraksha Yatra passed through the CPM strongholds of Pinarayi and Thalasserry which was attended by nearly 6,000 party workers. But the entire exercise lost its sheen as national president Amit Shah skipped the yatra at the last minute. The euphoria about his presence had reached the maximum when Mr Shah held Mr Pinarayi Vijayan responsible for the political killings in the state on Tuesday. The yatra passed through Pinarayi town and other areas peacefully while the shops remained shut and there not many spectators. Most BJP men, who came from far off place like Kasargod and Peravoor in Kannur, did not know the residence of Mr Pinarayi Vijayan and the rally moved on without any loud voice in front of his house.
A police bus was parked on the way blocking the right turn towards his house off the main road. Sources said that the CPM workers had unofficially asked the shop keepers to down the shutters on Wednesday itself. Though the BJP flags were displayed on both sides of the stretch, a few flags were removed in and around Pinarayi town and only the poles were left behind. “The scared CPM workers removed many of our flex boards and banners in the night. But they don’t know that for the removal of each board, hundreds of boards will reappear at the same place,” said BJP state general secretary K. Surendran.
The CPM flags were also on display on the yatra route. Some flex boards put up by the CPM in English said: ‘We stand for secularism and there is no space for communal forces in this land.’ “If it was difficult for Amit Shah to attend the prestigious yatra today, the party should have deputed a nationally prominent leader in his place,” said a young BJP worker from Kasargod. Apart from national secretary Arun Singh, Bizay Sonkar Shastri, Nalin Kumar Kateel MP and state leaders took part in the yatra. A 50-member team from Tamil Nadu, led by Yuva Morcha leader Vinod P. Selvam also attended it. The yatra will go to Kootuparambu and Panur areas on Friday.
