As many as five ministers and two former ministers are testing their fortunes in 11 constituencies of Kollam, making it a VIP arena in this Assembly election.
While CPI(M) ministers P.K. Gurudasan (labour and excise) and M.A. Baby (education) are seeking a mandate from adjoining Kollam and Kundara constituencies, respectively, Mr N.K. Premachandran (water resources) of the RSP is contesting from Chavara.
Mr C. Diwakaran (food and civil supplies) and Mr Mullakkara Ratnakaran (agriculture) of the CPI will be seeking re-election from Karunagapally and Chadayamangalam seats, respectively.
The former ministers in the fray are Kerala Congress (B) leader K.B. Ganesh Kumar (ex-transport minister) who is in search of his third straight victory from Patanapuram.
Mr P.K.K. Bava (former public works minister) of the Indian Union Muslim League has returned to Eravipuram seat after 20 long years. He is the only candidate outside the RSP to have registered a victory there.
The presence of so many VIPs has also triggered a debate on whether these ministers did any good for Kollam.
“Those who are saying that nothing substantial has been done are feigning ignorance,” said Mr Baby. “A titanium sponge factory has come up in the premises of KMML, a technopark has been set up in Kundara and the largest ESI hospital is coming up in
|Paripally.”
Mr Baby added that the Left Democratic Front had also hiked the wages of cashew workers twice during a five-year term.
“A large number of people in the district are employed in traditional sectors like cashew, coir and fishing,” he added.
The opposition UDF, however, charges that basic issues like drinking water, traffic congestion and bad condition of roads were not addressed.
“Traffic jams are a regular feature in Kollam and Attingal,” said Mr K.C. Rajan, the Congress candidate from the Kollam constituency.