Campaign shifts to top gear

KOCHI: With the D-day just two weeks away,  both the fronts and the BJP have started ramping up their campaigns for the Piravom bypoll. The coming days will witness the top leadership of parties converging on the constituency for giving final touches to their strategies.Top leaders of the LDF and the UDF are camping in Piravom, attending meetings and having discussions with party workers.The BJP leaders are also making their presence felt in the constituency. The BJP, looking to win that elusive Assembly seat in the state, has roped in some of its top leaders to boost the confidence of the party sympathisers. If the BJP is looking to break the jinx, the two major fronts have much at stake in Piravom, and they are leaving no stone unturned in wooing the  voters. UDF candidate Anoop Jacob and LDF candidate M J Jacob have started their ‘campaign tours’, which is the last round of the major campaigns. However, the BJP’s K R Rajagopal is yet hit the top gear, and it is expected that the party would beef up the drive in the coming days. CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has been campaigning in the constituency for the last couple of days and have been interacting with  the party activists. Moreover, Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan will be touring the constituency for at least four days. Former ministers Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, M A Baby, Jose Thettayil and Kadanappalli Ramachandran have also landed in the constituency to give a fillip to the party’s prospects.  They would be addressing various panchayat-level meetings in the coming days. Apart from this, CPI leaders K E Ismail, Binoy Viswam and Panniyan Ravindran add to the band of LDF leaders. The UDF will also bring in many of its top-notch leaders to the constituency in the coming days. Defence Minister A K Antony would be addressing an electorate meet on March 13, while Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi would be campaigning for three days from March 8. Three more Union misters, K V Thomas, K C Venugopal and Mullappally Ramachandran would be campaigning for Anoop Jacob. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala and the entire bunch of  UDF ministers are already in the constituency.