The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : UDF, LDF focus campaign on development activities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

UDF, LDF focus campaign on development activities

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

LDF bid to wrest constituency from the UDF

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is one of the few Assembly constituencies in the State where females outnumber male electorate and the only one where the district chiefs of the Congress and the CPI(M) are pitted against each other in the forthcoming elections to the Assembly.

Thiruvananthapuram North Assembly constituency is witnessing a three-cornered fight between DCC president and sitting MLA K. Mohan Kumar, three-time winner and CPI(M) district secretary M. Vijayakumar and BJP's B. Jayalekshmi.

The UDF, which is fighting to retain the seat held by Mr. Mohankumar, is focussing its campaign on the development activities launched under his initiative. The LDF and the BJP are making an all-out effort to expose the claims of the UDF by highlighting the unresolved problems facing the capital.

A lawyer by profession, Mr. Mohankumar had represented the Vattiyoorkavu division in the District Panchayat. He had also served as DCC general secretary and was a KPCC member. A known Karunakaran loyalist, he preferred to remain with the official faction when Mr. Karunakaran floated the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) last year.

Mr. Mohankumar, who is confident of retaining the seat, says he was able to use the floor of the Assembly for initiating several development projects, including the new civil station at Kudappanakunnu and in getting AIMS status for the Medical College. "The development initiatives in the constituency during the last five years should be compared with that during the 1987-2001 period," he says.

Campaign managers say the DIC(K), which has a significant following in the North constituency, is actively cooperating with the campaign with 90 per cent of them joining the mainstream. They are hopeful of capitalising on development initiatives during the UDF regime, the opening up of the education sector and creation of infrastructure facilities.

Mr. Vijayakumar, a State committee member of the CPI(M), is facing the electorate from the constituency for the fifth time. He entered the Assembly in 1987 defeating the then sitting MLA G. Karthikeyan of the Congress. He was elected in 1991 and 1996. In 2001, Mr. Vijayakumar lost to Mr. Mohankumar by 6,384 votes in the election, which was marred by the controversy over printing of posters.

Projecting the UDF claims on development as empty slogans, Mr. Vijayakumar says they could not even complete the works initiated when he was the Speaker.

"The people are sceptical about the development slogan raised by the UDF. The tide is in favour of the LDF," he adds.

The LDF campaign is focussed on the miseries faced by various sections of the people and the "poor performance" of the UDF Government.

The North constituency has the highest number of voters in the district and is the largest constituency area wise. Among the 1,94,131valid voters in the constituency, 1,00,534 are females.

The BJP, which has a significant presence in the women-dominated constituency, has fielded Prof. Jayalekshmi as its candidate.

A former Professor of D. B. College, Sasthamcottah, she took voluntary retirement in 1996 to take up social work. She had also served as chairperson of the Regional Railway Recruitment Board and had unsuccessfully contested to the Lok Sabha.

The BJP campaign focusses on the failure of the successive LDF and UDF regimes to address the development needs.

"They have failed to provide uninterrupted power supply and water and to create the infrastructure facilities. The capital is being neglected as there is no political will. We are seeking the vote for a change," she adds.

BJP candidate O. Rajagopal managed to secure a lead of 1,924 votes in the constituency in the 2004 Lok Sabha poll.

However, Pannian Ravindan of the CPI got a lead of 16, 352 votes in the segment in the 2005 byelection. In addition to AIADMK's R. Rajesh Chandran and BSP's P. Kamalasanan, three other independents are in the fray.

NDP candidate Vattiyorkavu Ravi won the first election after the constituency was formed in 1977. CPI(M) candidate

K. Anirudhan captured the seat in 1980 before it was wrested by UDF candidate Karthikeyan in 1982.

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