A massive crowd turned out to attend All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's roadshow on Tuesday in Kayamkulam in the district where the Congress leader campaigned for the UDF candidate Aritha Babu in the constituency.
After touching down on a helipad at Cheppad near Kayamkulam around 11:45 a.m., Ms. Vadra took out the roadshow sitting atop an open-topped vehicle along with Ms. Babu. Thousands of flag-waving Congress workers and members of the party’s allies poured on to the national highway to greet Ms. Vadra. Braving the scorching sun, she waved at supporters who lined up on both sides of the road and shook hands with some.
The AICC general secretary later visited the home of Ms. Babu at Kamalalayam Junction near Govindamuttom. She was welcomed to the house by a swelling crowd.
Youngest candidate
At 26, Ms. Babu is the youngest Congress candidate in the poll fray in this year’s Assembly elections in the State. Hailing from a humble background, her candidature had earlier made headlines. Before the Congress fielded Ms. Babu from the Kayamkulam Assembly constituency, she was elected to the Alappuzha district panchayat from the Krishnapuram ward at the age of 21 in the 2015 local body elections.
A Congress leader said that Ms. Vadra’s visit would boost the morale of the United Democratic Front workers in the constituency, where Ms. Babu is engaged in a pitched battle with the sitting MLA U. Prathibha of the Communist Party of India(Marxist). The National Democratic Alliance has fielded Pradeep Lal of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena in the constituency.