The Hindu : Kerala News : Keenly-watched contest in Muvattupuzha

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 08, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Keenly-watched contest in Muvattupuzha

By R. Ramabhadran Pillai

MUVATTUPUZHA, APRIL 7. Muvattupuzha is one constituency being keenly watched by all within the State and outside, mainly because of the presence of the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice, P.C. Thomas, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate, in the fray.

Mr. Thomas had won the seat in the 1999 election on the Kerala Congress(M) ticket by a margin of more than 76,000 votes. This time, he is pitted against the Kerala Congress(M) candidate, Jose K. Mani, son of the Revenue Minister, K.M. Mani. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate, P.M. Ismail, whom Mr. Thomas defeated last time, is also in the fray.

Mr. Thomas, despite being a Union Minister, is accessible to the people and this has endeared him to the masses. Moreover, there is a feeling among the people that their representative would go on to become a Minister, perhaps with an important portfolio, if he is elected again.

There are many voters who believe that there is a `feel good factor' in Muvattupuzha, though they are not sure whether it has anything to do with the NDA propaganda. The voters in Muvattupuzha, having a sizeable population of farmers and traders, are happy that rubber is fetching a better price. Mr. Thomas is known to have taken the cause of rubber farmers to the portals of Parliament. Another goodwill, as a voter pointed out, is the halt allowed to Venad Express at Mulanthuruthy, because of his efforts. Hundreds of passengers have apparently been benefited from it.

But there are counter-arguments too. How can Mr. Thomas, who had fought the election last time on the UDF ticket, seek votes in the company of BJP, a voter asked. (Mr. Thomas has since resigned from the Kerala Congress(M), a constituent of the ruling UDF, and formed the Indian Federal Democratic Party (IFDP), now a constituent of the NDA.)

This, of course, is the feeling shared by both United Democratic Front (UDF) and Left Democratic Front (LDF) workers here. There is bound to be a split in the UDF votes and it would benefit the Left Democratic Front (LDF), according to Mr. Ismail, the CPI(M)-led LDF's candidate. In addition, there is a general trend in favour of the LDF in the State, he avers. He is confident that the LDF is set to win the seat for the first time since 1967.

The UDF candiadate, Jose K. Mani, is the president of Kerala Youth Front, the youth wing of Kerala Congress(M). The party workers present him not only as the UDF candidate, but also as a youth leader. He had undertaken a rally from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram last year with development as the theme. This had apparently prepared ground for his entry into the big league of Kerala politics. Incidentally, Mr. Thomas is said to have formed the IFDP and joined the NDA to counter the move of the Kerala Congress(M) leadership to undermine his role in the party, an argument which is strongly contested by Mr. Mani.

Though the candidates are yet to file their nominations, campaigning has already started in right earnest by the three candidates. To begin with, the candidates are going round the constituency to meet the voters in person. The focus is mainly on the trading community as it is easier to meet more persons at a stretch unlike going to houses, which involves much more strain. On Tuesday, Mr. Ismail was seen going around Mulanthuruthy. Mr. Jose K. Mani was meeting voters at Koothattukulam and Mr. Thomas voters at Kunnathunad at the same time.

Posters of all the three are seen evenly distributed in most places. In certain locations, posters of the opposing candidates are pasted side by side, indicating a harmonious campaign, though a Kerala Congress(M) worker alleged that some of their posters had been removed by rivals in some places. The CPI(M) party office staff in Muvattupuzha are apparently focussing on electoral rolls, giving applications to the appropriate authority for additions or deletions in the rolls before the final date for making amendments.

The Muvattupuzha Lok Sabha constituency consists of seven Assembly constituencies - Kunnathunad, Piravam, Muvattupuzha, Kothamangalam, Kanjirappally, Poonjar and Palai. In the last Lok Sabha elections held in 1999, Mr. Thomas (Kerala Congress-M) secured 3,57,402 votes against his nearest rival, Mr. Ismail, who got 2,80,463 votes. V.V. Augustine of the BJP managed to get 47,875 votes and three other contestants together got 12,950 votes. The margin of victory was 76,939 votes.

During the 1998 parliamentary elections, Mr. Thomas (Kerala Congress-M) had polled 3,56,168 votes while his nearest rival, Mathew John (Janata Dal), got 2,42,359 votes. The BJP candidate, Narayanan Nampoothiry, secured 50,738 votes and two other candidates together got 6,758 votes. Mr. Thomas had won by a margin of 1,13,809 votes then.

In the 1996 elections too, Mr. Thomas was the victorious candidate. His winning margin had hit a record of 1,21,896 votes in that elections. While Mr. Thomas got 3,82,319 votes, Baby Kurian (Independent) received 2,60,423 votes. The BJP candidate, George Kurian, secured 30,097 votes while seven other candidates together managed to get 29,849 votes.

The polling in the last parliamentary elections in the constituency was 67.86 per cent while it was 66.16 per cent and 73.89 per cent in the 1998 and 1996 polls respectively.

The constituency has a total of 9,69,419 voters, out of which there are 4,85,734 men and 4,83,685 women, according to the latest available official data.

P.C. Thomas

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala