Safety and concern in Palakkad

Palakkad district is known for its diversity and wonder, whether it is in politics or culture. The district has the safest constituencies for the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF). Nevertheless, it is likely to have some constituencies which will witness all the fights this time.

Even before the final battle lines are drawn, fierce electoral battles in two of the 12 constituencies – Palakkad and Thirthala – testify. Both are currently represented by two gracious youths of the United Democratic Front (UDF) – Shafi Parambil (Palakkad) and VT Balaram (Triphala). Both are almost sure to try their luck for a third term.

uphill battle

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Mr. Balaram is gearing up to give his toughest fight in the district, especially the party has an ax to grind against him. A political bait noir for CPI (M), Mr. Balaram defeated Subaida Ishaq of CPI (M) by 10,547 votes in 2016. Since then, Mr. Balaram and CPI (M) have been in loggerheads. He often rallied fiercely on social media.

Thirthala appears to be one of the most prized for the CPI (M), and it excludes former Palakkad MP MB Rajesh from fielding.

Palakkad would also be a prized possession for the LDF; But Mr. Parambil has made a solid foothold in the constituency in the last 10 years, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finished second with 29.08% votes against 41.77% of the winner. But on the Palakkad assembly seat, the UDF’s vote share fell by almost 5% in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, while the LDF’s vote share increased proportionately while the BJP remained almost stagnant.

Shoranur, Ottappalam, Kongad and Malampuzha, which successfully ended the 2019 UDF sweep, show safe bets for the LDF. Although Taro, Nemmara, Alathur and Chittoor supported the UDF’s ‘singing sensation’, Remya Haridas, MP, by a huge margin in 2019, LDF is confident about its influence in those constituencies.

Although the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) does not see any major challenge against it in Mannarakkad, the UDF is currently eyeing two major constituencies – Pattambi and Chittoor. Chittoor lost to the Janata Dal (S) in 2016, when Pattambi was defeated by the Communist Party of India. It is necessary to see what strategy the UDF planned to bring back Pattambi and Chittoor.

Despite high hopes for the LDF in Kongad, the Congress has fresh hopes for the LDF lead falling to 356 in this SC-reserved assembly constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.