With only one week left for the Assembly polls, electioneering has reached a fever pitch in the Alappuzha constituency where an intense battle is on the cards.
On Monday, Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate P.P. Chitharanjan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)] campaigned in Aryad and Mararikulam South. He says that the people are happy and exudes confidence about his victory. Mr. Chitharanjan is seeking votes to continue the development initiatives.
United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate K.S. Manoj, who is fighting the polls on the Congress ticket, met voters in Chathanad, Kattoor, Mararikulam and so on. He is pinning hopes on allegations, especially the deep-sea fishing deal, against the LDF government to wrest the seat.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Sandeep Vachaspati of the Bharatiya Janata Party is also engaged in a spirited campaign.
Favoured both
The constituency has a history of supporting both the LDF and the UDF. The Congress held the seat from 1996 to 2011. However, following a delimitation process, it tilted towards the Left with present Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac emerging victorious in 2011 and 2016 polls with comfortable margins. In the previous election, Dr. Isaac defeated his nearest rival Laly Vincent of the Congress by 31,032 votes.
With Dr. Isaac not in the fray, and various other factors influencing the polls, no one is expecting a cakewalk in the constituency this time. It is home to a large number of fisherfolk. The stand of Latin Christians, Ezhavas and other prominent communities will play a role in deciding the results.
The Alappuzha Diocese recently aired concerns over the deep-sea fishing deal signed between the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation and a U.S.- based firm. Although the State government last month invalidated the deal, it remains a hot campaign topic for the UDF and the NDA here.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the UDF candidate had taken a slender lead of 69 votes in the Assembly segment. The LDF, however, romped to victory in all grama panchayts — Aryad, Mannanchery, Mararikulam South and Mararikulam North — along with the Alappuzha municipality (wards 1 to 19 and 45 to 50 fall in the Alappuzha Assembly constituency, while the rest of the wards form part of the Amabalappuzha constituency) in the local body polls.
