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Campaigning gains momentum in Kasaragod

Biju Govind

Kasaragod: Kasaragod district, lying in the northern tip of the State, usually thinks differently from the rest of the 13 districts. This erstwhile region of South Canara district of Madras State has withstood many a political wave in the past. The district along with neighbouring Kannur district goes to the polls in the third and final phase of elections in the State on May 3.

While the two northern most constituencies, Manjeswaram and Kasaragod, normally elect United Democratic Front (UDF) candidates, Uduma, Hosdrug and Thrikkarippur favour the Left Democratic Front (LDF). For the last several years, the five constituencies in the district remained loyal either to the UDF or to the LDF. Except in 1987, after the formation of the district in 1984, the UDF won all the seats, save the Thrikkarippur Assembly segment, a stronghold of the LDF.

Perhaps Kasaragod is also the only district in the State where the BJP has a strong presence capable of winning a seat in the Assembly elections. The party has been making vigorous attempts to open an account in the Legislative Assembly. Their candidates have been runners up in Manjeswaram and Kasaragod constituencies for four and five times respectively in a row in elections held since 1980. This time also both these segments are witnessing a three-cornered contest among the UDF, LDF and BJP candidates. Manjeswaram constituency has been returning the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)'s Cherkalam Abdulla to the Assembly since 1987. He has put up his candidature this time also. He defeated the BJP former State president C.K. Padmanabhan in the pervious elections.

The BJP has given the ticket to M. Narayana Bhat while the CPI(M) has fielded C.H. Kunhambu from this constituency. The CPI(M) believes it can turn the tables on Mr. Abdulla with the backing of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). At the same time, the BJP is deftly using the issue of the Karnataka merger in the electioneering.

In the neighbouring Kasaragod constituency, C.T. Ahammed Ali of the IUML is the UDF candidate. His winning streak started since the elections in 1980 and he has been defeating BJP candidates always except in 1980 when his rival was Gorvacis Areeckal of the KEC. He has picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Indian National League (INL) candidate N.A. Nellikkunnu and the BJP's V. Ravindran. A big issue that has cropped up in the campaigning is the drinking water crisis in the constituency.

Uduma, a stronghold of the CPI(M), had switched sides between the UDF and the LDF on several occasions. But after the 1991 elections, the constituency became a red fortress.

In the previous elections CPI(M)'s K.V. Kunhiraman won the seat defeating the Congress' C.K. Sreedharan by a margin of over 9,500 votes. Mr. Kunhiraman is seeking re-election while the Congress has fielded its district chief P. Gangadharan Nair.

Although the latter poses a stiff challenge to the CPI(M) candidate, workers of the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) are reluctant to canvass votes for him. Hosdurg is the reserved constituency in the district. The LDF had won this seat in the elections held in 1977, 1980 and 1982 but lost it in 1987. However, the CPI recaptured the seat in 1991. Thereafter the party has been success fully retaining the seat. The UDF has allotted the seat to the DIC(K). The CPI candidate is Pallipram Balan. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, CPI(M) candidate P. Karunakaran obtained over 18,000 votes against his nearest UDF rival in the constituency. C.K. Valsalan is contesting on the Lotus symbol here.

Thrikkarippur constituency still keeps the revolutionary fervour of Kayyoor and Karivalloor. The electorate segment, which elected the popular Marxist leader, E.K. Nayanar, has never betrayed the party. K. Kunhiraman of the CPI(M) is in the fray while A.V. Vamanakumar is the Congress candidate. Nine out of the 11 grama panchayats in the constituency are held by the LDF.

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