Trikaripur/Pala: The Trikaripur assembly constituency stretches from the hills in the east to the sea in the west. The constituency has aligned left since its inception, but United Democratic Front candidate M P Joseph expects to storm the red bastion this time.
Joseph, a former civil service officer better known as the son-in-law of the late K M Mani, is firmly with the Congress. “I joined the Congress after retirement. My father-in-law and others in the family were in the loop. I have often tried to make a model out of his faith, popularity and willingness to help even opponents,” Joseph said.
Joseph is not hassled by the uncertainties of his maiden electoral fight. The Ernakulam native now lives in a house near the Trikaripur railway station. He said that his sleeping hours have reduced to three or four since the election campaign started. “Phone calls start at 5.30 am. I start the campaign by 7.30 am,” he said.
Joseph tries to meet as many voters as possible to request for their votes. His speeches lack the usual political rhetoric. His words are selected and his demeanour calm. He tries to stick to locally relevant issues. He expects the voters to support him because of his track record in development activities. “People want to know how to benefit from official programmes,” he said.
“My candidature was not expected. I could not speak to Jose K Mani since I started campaigning,” he said about his brother-in-law, who is also seeking people’s verdict from Pala, albeit from the other camp.
“Jose K Mani is as sharp as Mani. That is why he is able to keep composure even under pressure,” he said.
Jose K Mani is also going through testing times. He filed his nomination as a candidate of the Left Democratic Front on the day the Supreme Court ruled that his groups could inherit the name and election symbol of the party his father nurtured. He was on his way to the returning officer’s office when the news broke.
“This is my first election without my father,” he said. He sleeps for hardly three hours. He goes to bed by 3 am and gets up at 6 am. “I pray alone for 20 minutes. I pray again with my mother, wife and children before I leave home.”
Jose K Mani said he wants to meet as many voters as possible before the election and speak at as many places as possible.
If Jose wins Pala for the LDF and Joseph wins Trikaripur for the UDF, the brothers-in-law could meet up in the legislative assembly in Thiruvananthapuram.
C Achuta Menon and V V Raghavan were also brothers-in-law. So were P K Vasudevan Nair and P Govinda Pillai.
