Kollam: In an untoward incident, Kollam NDA candidate and actor G Krishna Kumar was stopped from campaigning at Chandanathope ITI by SFI activists, leading to an altercation between the SFI and ABVP workers. The situation was brought under control by the police.

Reacting to the incident, the actor-cum-politician said, “What’s happening here is real fascism. I had gone to many places for election campaigning. I came here also for the same. Opponent candidates Mukesh and N K Premachandran had come just before me. However,  the SFI members stopped only me shouting ‘No entry for Narendra Modi’s candidate’. What are those who look for fascism in UP and Gujarath doing here? This is real fascism.”

The election scenario in Kollam became clear with the announcement of the BJP candidate here. Krishna Kumar’s name was not there in the district and State leadership’s lists. Krishna Kumar, also a BJP State Committee member, became the candidate with the blessing of the party’s national leadership. He was the BJP candidate in Thiruvananthapuram in the last Assembly elections. However, he lost it to LDF's Antony Raju.