Though the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) have always shared the five Assembly constituency segments between them in Kasaragod district, in the 2021 elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hoping to pose a strong challenge.
While the voters of Thrikkarippur, Uduma, and Kanhangad have traditionally stood by the LDF, Kasaragod and Manjeswaram have sided with the UDF.
Too close for comfort
However, in the 2016 elections, the UDF’s sitting seat of Manjeswaram witnessed a fierce battle between the BJP’s K. Surendran and the Indian Union Muslim League’s (IUML) P.B. Abdul Razak. The BJP lost by just 89 votes, and the constituency grabbed a lot of attention then. The return of Mr. Surendran, now the State BJP president, as the National Democratic Alliance candidate, has once again placed the constituency in limelight.
The UDF has fielded A.K.M. Ashraf, who was the Manjeswaram block panchayat president and the LDF’s candidate is V.V. Rameshan, the former chairman of Kanhangad municipality. Though the Left won in the constituency from 1977 to 1982 and again in 2006, the IUML has dominated the scene since 1987. The BJP has made its presence felt here.
The BJP, which did well in the December 2020 local body elections in eight grama panchayats in the constituency, is confident of bettering the performance in the Assembly election.
Murder impact
In the Uduma constituency, considered an LDF citadel, the murder of two Youth Congress workers in Pullur-Periya panchayat in 2018 will have an impact in the election this time. The murders had an effect in the local body elections, with the LDF losing the Pullur-Periya panchayat to the UDF. This has boosted the UDF’s confidence here.
The LDF has fielded C.H. Kunhambu, who will contest against the UDF’s Balakrishnan Periya and the BJP’s A. Velayudhan.
In the Kasaragod constituency, traditionally a stronghold of the IUML, the UDF has fielded incumbent MLA N.A. Nellikkunnu. In the 2016 election, Mr. Nellikkunnu defeated the BJP’s Ravisha Thantri Kuntar by a margin of 8,000-odd votes. This time, the BJP has fielded its district president K. Sreekanth so as to put up a tough fight here. With the LDF fielding Indian National League State secretary M.A. Latheef, the constituency is likely to witness a tri-cornered contest.
LDF hopeful here
The LDF is expecting easy victories in Thrikkarippur and Kanhangad. The front has fielded incumbent MLA M. Rajagopal from Thrikkarippur against the UDF’s M.P. Joseph and the BJP candidate T.V. Shibin. In Kanhangad, Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan is taking on against UDF candidate P.V. Suresh and the BJP’s M. Balraj.
Throughout the campaign LDF candidates have been highlighting the Pinarayi Vijayan government’s welfare programmes, while the the BJP has been laying stress on the various initiatives of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. The UDF has been reminding voters of lack of development, blaming both the State and Union governments.
