KOCHI: Sarah Joseph has often been described as someone who took the broom to sweep away the social evils much before the Aam Admi Party ( AAP ) came into existence.As a writer and social activist, Sarah Joseph’s intervention in the society against corruption, her relentless fight for the rights of women and her progressive stand on issues like environment have endeared herself to the people in the state.To the question whether all this will convert into votes, Sarah Joseph , the AAP candidate in Thrissur , replies that she is getting the support of the people, especially women, when she discusses their problems. In the fight between the Left Front and the United Democratic Front (UDF), other parties are usually left with a small share of votes. But Sarah Joseph is not taking any chances.“This is my second round of campaigning and this time, we are going to the interior villages” , she said as ET met her near Peechi, Thrissur. Sarah Joseph, the most well known candidate of the AAP in Kerala, says that her tour of the constituency has revealed that the most important problem faced by the people is the lack of drinking water.Discrepancies in the distribution of BPL/APL cards, pollution caused by quarries and protection of rights of women in their work places are some of the other serious issues that she could identify. But was it necessary for Sarah Joseph to join a political party to do what she has always been doing? “Not all agitations that we have organised in the state have succeeded,” she replies.“Often we are left with the thought whether we would have succeeded if we had the support of a political party,” she pointed out. Sarah Joseph starts her day’s campaigning at 7:00 AM. The jana sabhas and house visits are throwing up good ideas for the manifesto for the constituency. “There was a suggestion for an NRI jana sabha” , she said, adding that the demands of each population group are different.“For example, in a totally underdeveloped area in Echipara, the villagers wanted a mobile tower to provide phone coverage whereas in other areas people are for removing such towers fearing health issues ,” she said.Sarah Joseph is one of the most well known names in the literary circles in the state. Her books have won both Kerala and Kendra Sahitya Academy awards. She smiled when asked as to whether she is moving away from the Left movement in the state.“When the light is dying in one lamp, it is better to light another one,” she said. “Besides our leader Arvind Kejriwal has said that we can take the best aspect of Marx or Gandhi to make life easier for the common man. We need not be rigid,” she said. But the 58- year-old Sarah teacher (as she is better known in the state) concedes that she could feel an aversion towards politics and the politicians among the people . But if we talk to them it will go, she says confidently.