Alappuzha, Aug 19 (IANS) With just days to go for Kerala’s most celebrated boat race, the Nehru Trophy Boat Race has acquired an unexpected political subplot after organisers issued a fresh poster featuring the photograph of senior Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh, following confusion over his omission from an earlier version.
The Cultural Committee said the controversy was the result of a notice sent for proofreading being published by mistake.
A new poster carrying Kodikunnil’s photograph has since been prepared. Kodikunnil, meanwhile, has said there is no question of his staying away from the event.
He described the omission as a lapse on the part of those involved in preparing the poster and made it clear that he had no protest over the issue.
He will attend the boat race on Saturday.
The episode comes as preparations gather momentum for the annual sporting and cultural extravaganza on the Punnamada backwaters, which has a unique connection with India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
The race traces its origins to Pandit Nehru’s visit to Alappuzha in the 1950s.
Fascinated by the spectacular reception given by the snake boats and the excitement surrounding the race, Pandit Nehru is said to have been so carried away that he jumped into one of the boats.
The experience left a deep impression on him.
After returning to Delhi, Pandit Nehru sent a silver trophy bearing his signature to Alappuzha for the winners of the snake boat race.
The trophy subsequently became the Nehru Trophy, giving the race an association that has endured for decades.
The event has since grown into one of Kerala’s biggest cultural and sporting spectacles, drawing thousands of spectators to the banks of the Punnamada lake and generating enormous interest across the State.
This year’s race is also generating considerable political curiosity, with unconfirmed reports suggesting that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi could be among the chief guests.
The speculation has gained traction because Alappuzha is the home Lok Sabha constituency of AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal.
However, police officials said they have not received any official information so far regarding a visit by either Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi.
Security arrangements for a VIP visit would normally require advance coordination, making the absence of any official communication significant.
–IANS
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