The CPM-led state govt may have gone all out to promote its successes with the Vizhinjam International Seaport, contrasting it with the ‘inefficiency’ of Congress. However, people of Kovalam constituency, where the port falls, were seemingly unimpressed. Voters in Kovalam have re-elected UDF candidate M Vincent, who won by a margin of 32,709 votes. This margin increased tremendously from the around 11,000 votes in the 2021 election. The LDF govt had claimed that getting a concessionaire for Vizhinjam port, spending around Rs 5,000 crore for its initial phase and then speeding up its final deadline through deft negotiation with the Adani Group was a stellar achievement of fast-tracking an infrastructure project. However, the construction of the port did not yield political dividends. Vincent said that the victory was earned because of his relationship with the people and the local issues he successfully took up and solved in the constituency. “The anti-people policies of the government played a role,” he added. TNN
