Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 16 (IANS): By choosing comedian Dharmajan Bolgatty the Congress wants to ensure a comfortable position at the Balusseri assembly constituency that has always been a Left stronghold.
Dharmajan is a surprise candidate from the grand old party at the reserved for scheduled caste constituency under the Kozhikode Lok Sabha constituency.
He will take on Purushan Kadalundi of the CPI-M, who is aiming for a hat trick from the seat that has been one of the strongest constituencies for the ruling Left Democratic Front.
Kadalundi, in the 2016 assembly polls, increased his margin by 15,464 voters, up from 9,882 in 2011.
The 35-year-old Congress' candidate, who began his professional career as a comedian on stage and after 11 years, as a popular film actor has completed some 60 films.
Though he hails from Kochi, he has been asked to contest far away from his hometown as the Congress is determined to break the Kozhikode jinx. The party has not won a single seat it has contested in the 2011 and 2016 assembly polls from the district.
Dharmajan has got a huge boost, right from the time he and his entourage arrived in Kozhikode, as he has with him, yet another hugely popular film personality -- Ramesh Pisharody, who is presently leading the campaign for his good old friend.
"The massive welcome that we got has come as a surprise as we never expected such a rousing start to our campaign. We were really happy to see people lining up on either side of the roads and also at our first election meeting," said Pisharody.
Dharmajan is using the hashtag "Dharmam jeyikan Dharmajan" (which loosely translates to #ForthevictoryofDharmaDharmajan).
The actor has no qualms to emphasise that he is not a political novice, instead right from his school days he has been an active political worker, starting from the student wing of the Congress party.
However, his more seasoned opponent, Kadalundi, is unfazed. He said even if superstar Mohanlal was pitched against him, it would not benefit Congress.
All eyes are now on the April 6 polls, when 140 seats of Kerala Assembly goes to polls.