As the campaign is progressing, the general impression among the people here is of a close contest. While Tharoor faces the task of retaining his acknowledged mass appeal even after 15 consecutive years of representing the people of Thiruvananthapuram, Chandrasekhar has the mission of making himself the new flavour.
When Chandrasekhar’s candidature was announced initially, there were murmurs of him being a kind of “political outsider”, having been based mostly in Bengaluru and represented Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha. But many here also recall Tharoor too had carried that “outsider” tag when he made his debut in the 2009 poll as a UN-returned Malayalee. Many also spot certain familiarities between the two candidates as both have the image of being unconventional politicians and achievers even outside politics –– like Tharoor was a known diplomat and author when debuted in Kerala politics, Chandrasekhar too had been established as a businessman and media entrepreneur. Both didn’t come through the hurly burly of daily politics in Kerala but made wildcard entries. Both are known to be resourceful and skilful in working their respective campaigns. If Tharoor had made his political debut here with the backing of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, Chandrasekhar’s entry has the backing of PM Modi.
And adding to their contest is the fact that Thiruvananthapuram has been, of late, witnessing a Congress versus BJP fight for the top slot, relegating the Left to the third position in the last two LS polls here, a fate, many here feel, CPI veteran Panniyan Raveendran may also risk this time (despite the Left holding six of the seven assembly segments within this LS constituency) as it is now widely perceived to be a fight to finish between Tharoor and Chandrasekhar now. The fact that Tharoor won two elections with 99,000-plus margin and one with 15,000-plus, shows his hattrick was a hard-fought one.
Faced with BJP’s charge that Tharoor had not done enough for the constituency during his 15 years as MP, the Congress leader has brought out a 60-odd page booklet that lists his development/welfarist/ relief initiatives including those during the Covid-19 pandemic, for the cyclone-hit besides his contributions to the Vizhinjam seaport, national highway bypass and others. His campaign also alleges that the Modi government was found wanting in backing up his push for more development projects in Thiruvananthapuram.
![Chandrasekhar Vs Tharoor: Voters Talk of Close Contest Chandrasekhar Vs Tharoor: Voters Talk of Close Contest](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-42031747/et-logo.jpg)
Besides alleging negligence of the constituency by the sitting MP, Chandrashekhar released his vision document for the constituency’s sector-wise development through multiple projects. The BJP campaign also underscores the importance for the constituency to have an MP from the BJP, to be an effective beneficiary of the Modi government’s development vision. The contest appears also to be taking some bitter turns with both alleging use of money power –– the Congress side alleging some discrepancies in Chandrashekhar’s latest tax filing and the BJP side filing a case against Tharoor for alleged false propaganda against Chandrasekhar.
Past voting patterns showed that in the event of a close Congress-BJP contest, the significant sections of voters belonging to the minority communities and fishing folk of the coast, act as a tilting factor. No wonder why both Tharoor and Chandrasekhar are making special efforts to woo and reassure the coastal people by promising special plans for them.
“For years, we have had the same MP and maybe it’s time to experiment with a new face like BJP’s Rajeev Chandrashekhar, more so since the Congress or the Left are unlikely to form the government in Delhi”, said Shaji, a local shopkeeper. “Tharoor has done some good work here as an MP, and being a global citizen, he has made Thiruvananthapuram more famous. Yet, it looks like a close fight between Tharoor and Rajeev Chandrasekhar. All are watching how the coastal belt will vote this time,” said Narayanan, a bank employee.
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