Assembly polls: Saffron party desperately wants a victory in Kasaragod district

Kasaragod, May 1: The land of seven languages portrays a contrasting political landscape in the run-up to the elections to the State Assembly. Political pundits have put the district under close watch, for the poll outcome in three key constituencies here is crucial for the major players in Kerala politics.

While Manjeswaram witnesses a fierce fight among the Indian Union Muslim League, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Bharatiya Janata Party, Kasaragod could perhaps be the lone segment in the district where the IUML and BJP are locked in a straight fight. The scenario in the traditionally Left stronghold of Uduma has assumed new dimensions with the United Democratic Front fielding the firebrand Congress leader K. Sudhakaran in a bid to end the CPI(M)'s free run here since 1991.

Manjeswaram

In Manjeswaram, one of the few segments in the State where the BJP hopes to make its maiden entry into the Assembly, the three fronts have opted to field the same candidates who contested the 2011Assembly election.

Though a native of Kozhikode, K. Surendran, the BJP nominee, has been the runner-up in the segment during the last five elections.

Sitting IUML MLA P.B. Abdul Razak is hopeful of retaining the seat harping on the development projects he has initiated in the relatively backward area in the last five years.

The unconditional support offered to the Left Democratic Front by the influential Sunni leader Kanthapuram A.P. Abubacker Musliyar and the possible anti-incumbency factor have given new hopes for CPI(M) nominee C.H. Kunhambu.

Uduma

Mr. Sudhakaran's entry has electrified the UDF camp at Uduma and the allies are found working overtime to ensure his victory. UDF campaign managers seem to believe that the front had to bite the dust in the past for want of a formidable candidate. The UDF had a majority of 835 votes in the segment in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The LDF's victory margin was 11,380 in the last Assembly elections. Sitting MLA K. Kunhiraman of the CPI(M) and BJP district president K. Sreekanth are his opponents.

Kasaragod

Sitting MLA N.A. Nellikkunnu of the IUML, who has been representing the Kasaragod segment eight times in a row, is facing a close contest from Hindu Aikyavedi State vice president and BJP nominee Kundar Raveesha Tantri. Being the chief priest of over 50 temples in the region, he commands respect from a wide spectrum of society. The presence of the Indian National League, Social Democratic Party of India, and People's Democratic Party in the fray and the unending delay in resolving the six-decade long drinking water crisis in the town and adjoining localities could mar the prospects of the IUML, which enjoys considerable grassroots support there. LDF-supported INL candidate A.A. Ameen is also in the fray.

LDF ahead in campaign

In the Left strongholds of Kanhangad and Thrikkarippur, CPI's E. Chandrasekharan, MLA, and CPI(M)'s M. Rajagopalan respectively have moved far ahead in the campaign, while the electioneering of Congress nominees Dhanya Suresh and K.P. Kunhikannan has just picked up momentum.

Putting the lingering endosulfan issue on the backburner, the fronts appear to highlight the stagnated or slow-paced developmental initiatives in the district as a major poll plank. When the UDF boasts of creating the new taluks of Manjeswaram and Vellarikkundu, initiating measure for the establishment of the government medical college at Badiadukka, and streamlining the road network, the LDF blames the ruling front for the tardy growth rate of the district. The BJP accuses the rival fronts for keeping the region under perpetual neglect despite governing the State successively for over six decades.