Longstanding issues will prove decisive in Kasaragod
The electoral landscape of Kasaragod is once again set for a highstakes battle with incumbent MP Rajmohan Unnithan of the Congress seeking reelection from the Lok Sabha constituency.
In the 2019 elections, Mr. Unnithan made inroads into the district’s traditionally Leftleaning electorate, defeating his nearest rival K.P. Satheesh Chandran of the CPI(M) by a margin of over 40,000 votes. The BJP contender Ravisha Tantri Kuntar came a distant third.
Mr. Unnithan’s win also signalled a momentous shift in the constituency’s political dynamics as only the CPI(M) candidates had been winning from here since 1989. A.K. Gopalan, a founding member of the CPI(M), had represented Kasaragod thrice from 1957 to 1967. Candidates of the Congress have represented it in the Lok Sabha only thrice.
Now, the CPI(M) is banking on district secretary M.V. Balakrishnan to wrest the seat from Mr. Unnithan, while the BJP is pinning its hopes on newcomer M.L. Ashwini, a national executive member of the Bharatiya Mahila Morcha and Manjeswaram block panchayat member.
Many factors contributed to Mr. Unnithan romping home last time, including the widely touted possibility of a Congress win at the Centre and its president Rahul Gandhi emerging as the Prime Minister. Also, the support lent by the LDF government to the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to offer prayers at the Sabarimala temple alienated a segment of the electorate. The killing of two Youth Congress activists, Kripesh and Sharath Lal, by CPI(M) activists in Kasaragod in February 2019 too worked against the party.
Assembly segments
The Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven Assembly segments: Manjeswaram, Kasaragod, Uduma, Kanhangad and Thrikkarippur in Kasaragod district, and two segments, Payyannur and Kalliassery in Kannur district. In the 2019 polls, Mr. Unnithan secured huge leads in Manjeswaram and Kasaragod and a moderate lead in Uduma. But he could only finish second in the remaining four segments. The BJP candidate came second in Manjeswaram and Kasaragod.
A similar pattern was almost repeated in the 2021 Assembly polls with the the IUML, theCongress ally in the UDF, winning Manjeswaram and Kasaragod and the BJP coming second in them. However, Uduma sprang a surprise with the CPI(M) bagging 13,000odd votes more than the Congress.
Key issues such as development, infrastructure, and social welfare dominate the electoral discourse. Despite efforts in tourism and development, Kasaragod remains one of Kerala’s most backward districts, with pressing issues such as the absence of a medical college hosptial and concerns regarding Endosulfan victims.
Soaring mercury levels and spiralling political temperatures seem to march in lockstep in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency where the Congress, the CPI, and the BJP are battling for the electorate’s hearts and minds at the midpoint of an unseasonably scorching summer.
The threepronged fight between incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and former CPI State secretary Pannian Raveendran has rendered the contest perhaps the most watched in the State.
Gunning for a fourthtime win on the trot to set a record in the constituency, Mr. Tharoor had secured 41.4% of the votes to defeat veteran rivals Kummanam Rajasekharan of the BJP and C. Divakaran of the CPI with a significant margin of 99,989 votes in the 2019 general elections. He came tantalisingly close to the winning lead of 99,998 he secured during his electoral debut.