Kerala Assembly polls: 'Star war' in Pathanapuram constituency

PATHANAPURAM (KERALA): Kerala's Pathanapuram constituency will literally witness a 'star war' in the May 16 Assembly polls as three film actors cross swords in their bid to wrest the segment.

Sitting MLA K B Ganesh Kumar of Kerala Congress (B), known for his heroic and character roles, has been backed by LDF while Jagadish, popular comedian and TV host, has been roped in by UDF and BJP has put up Raghu Damodaran alias Bheeman Raghu, who played a villain in many movies.

The three actors have set aside their tinsel town friendships and are aggressively campaigning against each other to woo voters.

While it is an electoral debut for Jagadish and Raghu, Kumar will look to retain the constituency, where he had gotten 71,421 votes in the 2011 polls.

In what may be seen as irony, 49-year-old Kumar, who had won the constituency thrice in a row from 2001 under the UDF banner, is now seeking his fourth stint under the LDF bandwagon.

His opponents have taken up this association with LDF as a major campaign tool against him, terming it an example of 'political opportunism'.

Kumar and his party had distanced from Congress-led UDF after he quit the present Oommen Chandy government as minister of Forests, Sports and Cinema following a domestic violence case filed against him by his former wife on April 7, 2013.

It was not a smooth sailing for Kumar when joining the LDF fold initially as there were rumblings over his candidature as he had made some objectionable comments against CPI(M) veteran VS Achutanandan during his tenure as minister in the Chandy government.