Election pranks in Muvattupuzha- By Thomas Matthew

Those were the days when elections were totally different in style and substance in our
>> country especially in small towns like ours.
>> In the Sixties and before there were mainly two parties-the Congress and the Communists and in
>> certain areas communist supported independent candidate too did well with the support of
>> prominent and influential citizens.They were quite rich and popular among the common masses.
>> But one thing which was a common feature among the candidates and their supporters was the
>> interesting comaraderie and personal friendship which should be a model for the candidates and
>> supporters in Kerala and all over the country.
>> My father though an active Congress leader, never contested the elections. But he was always
>> the King Maker who forgot to wear a crown though it was offered on a platter many times by the
>> prominent leaders of Kerala.He was a dedicated Congress man and follwer of Jawaharlal Nehru and
>> would support any one who was a Congress candidate.But in the elections he was always between
>> the devil and the deep sea whenever the Congress candidate was not a worthy man.
>> I very vividly remember the fight between one of his dear friends ,the late Manjunatha Prabhu
>> who contested with the support of the leftists from our constituency.There would be meetings in
>> and around our town and he always used to criticise the Congress and the leadership of my
>> father and his influence especially among the Christians in the town.
>> After the eventful and emoptional meetings and fiery speeches people will go home to take rest
>> . But the candidate who was a leftist leader would straightaway come to our house to have a
>> hearty chat with my father who was his fierce political rival.They would enjoy themselves for a
>> long time supported by some "refreshments" the main dish of which was the "parippu vada" (dal
>> vada)which was brought by the rival candidate Manjunatha Prabhu.
>> The symbol of the communists was a cock and there was a huge grafiti on the road right in front
>> of our house.I had different plans of destroying the stuff especially it was in front of our
>> house.At last I hit upon a very curious idea.It was impossible to wipe away the solid
>> grafiti.So I stole some chalk pieces from my class room and in the night after midnight slowly
>> made an artistic approach to the writing on the concrete road.I drew a hand holding a big and
>> sharp dagger attempting to cut the throat of the cock!It was appreciated by all the like-minded
>> friends .But when my father saw the "cruel deed", he was very angry and reprimanded me that I
>> should have known that the opposition candidate was Prabhu ,his bosom friend!That day I learnt
>> the great lesson of treating even your enemies with respect and dignity.A great lesson indeed!
>> The result came and my father's Congress candidate won hands down.The opposition
>> candidate Mr Manjunatha Prabhu rushed to our house to congratulate my father who was the brain
>> behind the victory of the Congress candidate.But my father with tears in his eyes embraced him
>> and wished him luck in the next elections.
>> Such was the attitude of the politicians in the past.On the contrary, these days we read about
>> political murders each day which makes our political scenario really look violent.And our
>> children get all the wrong ideas about political work and call poltics the last resort of
>> scoundrels.
>> I honestly feel that our political leaders should exercise more restraint,dignity
>> and political morality during the election campaigns.This would,for sure, lend a halo of
>> respectability to politics at large. Is any one listening?