Kerala poll bet backfires: CPI worker shaves off moustache as LDF fails to retain Pathanamthitta

KOCHI: Babu Varghese, a CPI worker, made a lighthearted bet with a friend that he would shave off his moustache if the LDF failed to retain power in Pathanamthitta municipality. When the UDF emerged victorious in the local body elections, Babu stayed true to his word, shaving off his signature moustache — a small personal gesture amid the political storm sweeping Kerala.While Babu kept his pledge, several parts of the state, particularly in northern Kerala, were far from calm.

As per news agency PTI, violence erupted following the announcement of results on December 13. In Eramala in Kozhikode district, tension ran high after the Indira Gandhi Bhavan, a Congress office, was allegedly attacked by CPI(M) workers. According to the FIR registered at Edachery police station, around 200 people marched to the office armed with weapons, vandalising the building and causing damage estimated at Rs 5 lakh.

A statue of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was also damaged. UDF activists soon gathered, escalating tensions, though police brought the situation under control.Elsewhere, Marad saw stones pelted at a UDF victory procession, leaving several injured, PTI reported. In Sultan Bathery, around 40 CPI(M) workers allegedly attacked a car carrying a UDF activist and family, while in Panoor, CPI(M) workers reportedly targeted houses and vehicles belonging to Muslim League activists, using swords and daggers.

Clashes between UDF and LDF workers were also reported in Ulikkal and Bedakom, with minor injuries to police and party workers. Neyyattinkara witnessed similar scuffles between CPI(M) and BJP workers.Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, condemned the violence, highlighting vandalism of a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Payyannur and a UDF election office. CCTV footage reportedly showed a bomb hurled at the house of a UDF candidate. Satheesan alleged that the attacks reflected an ideology similar to the Sangh Parivar and called on the chief minister and state police chief to take strict action.Amid this wave of violence and political tension, Babu Varghese’s gesture of shaving his moustache stood out as a rare personal anecdote — a small act of accountability in stark contrast to the chaos that followed the elections.(With agency inputs)