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Poor performance by BJP

Staff Reporter

Kozhikode: In spite of its high voltage campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to make a credible performance in any of the 12 constituencies in Kozhikode district.

In most of the Assembly segments, the party candidates failed to secure votes their candidates polled in the previous election. In Beypore constituency, the party candidate, K.P. Sreeshan, got 12,667 votes. But the party candidate had polled 14,363 votes here a decade ago.

However, it has something to cheer up as Mr. Sreeshan got over 1,500 votes more than the party candidate polled in the 2001 elections.

The BJP's miserable performance was in Kunnamangalam. The party nominee, K.K. Bharathan, received just 7,270 votes. Kunnamangalam is one of the constituencies in which the BJP has a formidable presence.

Its candidate had obtained 13,741 votes in the last Assembly elections. In the elections in 1996 and 1991, the party candidates have got more than 11,000 votes. Incidentally, Kunnamangalam is also the only segment in the district which elected a UDF candidate this time.

The vote share of the BJP has come down in Kozhikode-I, Vadakara, Balussery, Koduvally and Thiruvambady constituencies when compared to the votes the party candidates secured in the 2001 elections.

Only a marginal increase can be seen in Kozhikode-II, Nadapuram, Meppayur, Koyilandy and Perambra segments.

In the elections in 2001 and 1996, the BJP appeared to be a crucial player in many of the constituencies in the district. The party candidates could upset the electoral fortunes of the candidates belonging to either front since the victory margins were less than the number of votes they obtained.

In the 1996 elections, BJP candidates polled more votes than the victory margins of the candidates in the constituencies of Kozhikode-I, Kozhikode-II, Koyilandy, Perambra, Koduvally, Beypore, Kunnamangalam and Thiruvambady. The figures were more or less the same in the 2001 elections.

However, this time the BJP has been reduced to a weak third party in all the constituencies except Kunnamangalam where the party candidate polled more votes than the victory margin of the UDF candidate.

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