Thiruvananthapuram, March 20
With Eid al-Fitr falling on a Friday this year, Kerala's election campaign acquired a distinctly festive yet urgent political hue, as candidates across party lines converged at Eidgah grounds in a last-minute outreach effort ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls.
With barely days left for campaigning to end, nominees from the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance were seen making a beeline to prayer venues across the state early in the morning.
The gatherings, marked by large turnouts of the faithful, quickly turned into informal political touch points.
The supreme leader of the Indian Union Muslim League, Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, was seen hurrying to the prayer ground along with the veteran P.K. Kunjalikutty, a candidate at the Malappuram constituency, even as several media personnel were waiting to speak to him on the festival day.
"Things are ominous for us, and in the coming days, when the campaign picks up, we will be more excited as the outcome is very clear," said Thangal.
Candidates arrived well before the prayers concluded, patiently waiting on the sidelines to greet worshippers as they streamed out of the Eidgahs. Handshakes, brief conversations and hurried appeals for support defined the interactions, as contenders sought to maximise visibility among a key voter segment in a limited timeframe.
Kerala's Muslim population, which constitutes roughly 24 per cent of the state's 3.30 crore people, remains a significant electoral bloc, especially in several constituencies across Malabar and parts of central Kerala.
The festive congregation offered a rare opportunity to connect with large numbers of voters in one place, something that conventional campaigning struggles to achieve so close to polling day.
In several locations, Muslim candidates cutting across political affiliations joined the faithful in offering Eid prayers, blending religious observance with subtle political signalling.
For many, it was also a moment to reinforce community ties and underscore their cultural connect.
While the sanctity of the occasion remained intact, the unmistakable undercurrent of electoral urgency was evident.
With door-to-door canvassing and public meetings entering their final stretch, Eid ul-Fitr has become both a celebration and a strategic pit stop where faith, festivity and politics intersect in the closing lap of a high-stakes electoral contest.
- IANS
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