NEYYATINKARA: A campaign in scorching sun on a tricycle is not an easy task. But for Stephen, it is a friendly affair.For Stephen, 50, a physically challenged person from Kakkaravila, abstaining from campaign for LDF candidate F Lawrence is unthinkable. Stephen, a lottery vendor, had set aside his livelihood for the past one month to campaign for his long-time friend Lawrence. “Myself and Lawrence are long-time friends. I live near his house. There is only a short distance between our houses,” Stephen told ‘Express’ at Pazhayakada of Thirupuram panchayat. As part of the campaign, Stephen covers at least two wards a day on his tricycle. Like Stephen, his campaign has also got a difference. He does not ask people to vote for Lawrence. His vehicle is covered with posters of Lawrence with a silent plea to vote for the left candidate. Stephen has always been a fellow-traveller of Lawrence and never abstained from campaigning whenever the latter contested elections. Lawrence got elected for the first time in 1995 to the Karode grama panchayat. He contested the Parassala Block panchayat for three consecutive terms in 2000, 2005 and 2010. “I had always been there to seek vote for him whenever he was a candidate. Normally I used to spend eight hours for the campaign,” Stephen said. Stephen is a bachelor and lives with his parents in a small house at Kakkaravila, the native place of Lawrence.
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