Fierce electoral battle in Kasargod

CPI(M) veteran P Karunakaran is making all out efforts to achieve a hattrick from the Left bastion of Kasargod Parliamentary constituency even as Congress-led UDF and BJP were engaged in a no-holds-barred campaign in the constituency.
The soft-spoken Karunakaran is focussing on 'anti-people' policies of UPA and UDF while his opponents T Siddique of Congress and BJP's K Surendran are hopeful of upstaging the calculations of CPI(M) in its fortress in the April 10 polls.
Several key issues connected with the constituency, which remains one of the most backward regions in the state, including the scars left by the indiscriminate use of the pesticide endosulfan in the state-owned cashew estates in 11 panchayat limits and the absence of a mechanism to monitor the ongoing relief and rehabilitation initiative for the victims has been highlighted during the campaigning.

Besides, the problems confronting linguistic minorities in areas bordering Karnataka are widely raised by the parties.
The electioneering would reach its zenith with Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and BJP's Prime Ministerial Cadidate Narendra Modi set to campaign in the final stages.
Attacking the UDF, Karunakaran said fuel price hike has become a routine affair in the country. People were bearing the brunt of anti-people policies of the ruling front, he alleged.
While on the other side, Siddique details the development works carried out in the constituency by both the Centre as well as the UDF Government.