THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the temperatures continued to soar and the pre-monsoon showers, also known as 'mango showers', playing truant, the candidates contesting the Lok Sabha election have been forced to alter their campaign schedules.
The scorching heat across Kerala was playing the villain forcing the contestants to adapt accordingly ahead of the April 26 Lok Sabha polling day.
Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats and the three political fronts -- the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Front, the Congress-led UDF and the BJP-led NDA, are leaving nothing to chance to beat each other. But, the summer heat has forced all three political fronts to have a similar pattern for campaigning.
All the candidates and their teams hit the campaign trail as early as 8 a.m. and run it till around noon. Then there is a break till tea time after which all are back on the streets till night.
The mango showers, which generally begin in March, are yet to arrive causing a huge discomfort to all candidates.
Congress MP and son of Congress leader K. Karunakaran -- K.Muraleedharan locked in an intense triangular fight at Trissur said the heat was taking a toll but he beat it by eating lots of fruits and drinking fresh juices.
The CPI(M) sitting member at Alappuzha, A.M. Ariff said that he has an early morning warm-up session and with the Ramzan month going on, he fasts till sunset and does not have to bother about having anything during the day.
With the heat taking its toll, the campaign managers of all contestants every day take weather updates and accordingly plan the election outreach events.
However, one group of people, who are cheering for the absence of rain, are those involved in the business of preparing advertisement material. They are having a field day with candidates regularly giving fresh orders of publicity materials.