THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The poll battle at Vatakara in Kozhikode district has reached a crescendo with K.K.Rema of the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) getting the full support of the Congress-led UDF.
Though pitted against, M. Chandran of the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) an ally of the ruling Left, the real battle is between Rema and none other than Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Rema is the widow of T.P. Chandrasekharan, the founder of RMP, who was hacked 51 times by assailants in May 4, 2012 when he was returning home on his motorcycle in his hometown near Kozhikode.
In the case, 11 people were given life imprisonment, of which three were mid-level CPI-M leaders and the demand for a probe into the conspiracy behind the murder is still with the court.
Rema has time and again taken on Vijayan for calling her husband "a renegade".
Between her busy election campaign schedule she interacted with IANS. Here are the excerpts:
Q: How is the campaign going?
A: The response from the people has been overwhelming. The support from the voters is beyond my expectations. I have the whole-hearted support from people from all walks of life irrespective of political affiliations. So, I am very much certain about my victory.
Q: Did you expect the Congress-led UDF to extend the support, would you have contested even without the support of the UDF?
A: Of course, we had decided to contest from constituencies where we thought we could win confidently. We wanted to expose the CPI-M-led LDF government's anti-people misrule and campaign against the politics of the CPM. Even if we had not received the support from the Congress-led UDF, we would have contested in the elections.
Q: You did say that on May 2, Pinarayi Vijayan would know who was TP Chandrashekaran. Can you elaborate?
A: T.P. Chandrasekharan advocated a certain brand of politics, a politics that cannot be defeated by his rivals. He was killed with the intention of annihilating that brand of politics with which he sought to dissent and express his dissenting voice.
The CPI-M and Pinarayi Vijayan mistakenly thought that by killing T.P. Chandrasekharan, his brand of politics will end once and for all. But, after he was murdered, thousands of Chandrasekharans emerged espousing his brand of politics.
Both LDF and Pinarayi Vijayan will realize this on May 2.
Q: How would you rate Pinarayi Vijayan as a Chief Minister?
A: Kerala has never witnessed a 'ruler' like Pinarayi Vijayan. He is so arrogant and autocratic. He is symbol of high-handedness. We feel that he is a ruler like Hitler and Mussolini. He lacks even an iota of humanity which we expect from a ruler.
That is what we can figure out from his body language and the way he conducts himself. Even after Chandrasekharan's death, Vijayan used extremely heinous word to address him. Only a person like Pinarayi Vijayan can do that.
Q: Most pre-poll surveys have predicted the Vijayan will retain power, what do you have to say?
A: I don't trust all these pre-poll surveys. They lack credibility and are the handiwork of event management companies. We have seen how pre-poll surveys in the past were damp squibs. In the last Lok Sabha elections, pre-poll surveys predicted that Shashi Tharoor and Sreekantan will not win. Such surveys are paid exercises. They cannot reflect what is really going in the minds of the people.
Q: This is the first time that Vijayan is leading an election campaign how do you think he is fairing?
A: During the last Lok Sabha elections, Pinarayi Vijayan was the chief minister of Kerala. But his images were not used anywhere for the campaign. This time they are going to taste defeat by putting Vijayan as the central figure of the campaign.
Earlier the CPI-M used V.S. Achuthanadan for election campaign. Both V.S. and Pinarayi represent different brands of politics.
Pinarayi Vijayan represents a politics that's dominated by bourgeois and capitalist forces. There is no doubt that people will defeat his brand of politics. Ordinary people don't like this kind of politics being carried out by Pinarayi.
Q: If you win the election, what would be your priorities?
A: There has not been proper development in the Vatakara constituency for past four decades. Another problem is the severe drinking water shortage in the coastal areas. People in these areas face the hardships of rough sea. Ordinary people here don't get the true benefits of Vatakara district hospital. They have to rely on private hospital for better treatment. My aim is to raise the standards of this hospital.
We need a complete overhaul in all sectors. I will ensure the participation of people in the overall development of Vatakara.