Steephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod (SP)

Kasargod, Apr 3: Kerala Assembly election is just days away and five constituencies in Kasargod district are witnessing a triangular contest. Manjeshwar and Uduma among them are considered to be prestigious. 

Even though there are six candidates in Manjeshwar, UDF and BJP are involved in a strong fight. LDF too has been trying to prove its supremacy. Between 1987 and 2019 bypoll, except once, in all other elections, UDF had registered victory here. In 2006, LDF had unexpectedly bagged this seat.

From L to R: Top Row: Balakrishna Periya Congress-Uduma, Balaraj BJP Kanhangad, C H Kunchambu, K Shrikanth BJP Kasargod, E Chandrashekharan CPI Kanhangad
Middle Row: K Surendran BJP Manjeshwar, M A Lateef LDF Kasargod, M P Joseph Kerala Congress -Trikkaripura, M Rajagopal CPM Trikkaripura, M Valayudhan BJP Kanhangad
Bottom Row: N A Nellikunnu UDF Kasargod, P V Suresh Congress Kanhangad, T V Shibin BJP Trikkaripura, V V Rameshan LDF Manjeshwar, AKM Ashraf UDF Manjeshwar

During the previous three elections, UDF has been able to retain its strong bastion, Manjeshwar. BJP was placed second in these elections. The result of the election held in 2016 was unforgettable. Razack, had defeated BJP's K Surendran, by just 89 votes. Razack had died, and in the bypoll, UDF secured victory by a margin of 8,000 votes. In that election, M C Qamaruddin of the UDF had defeated BJP's Kuntaru Raveesh Tantry.

This time, UDF has fielded AKM Ashraf while BJP has fielded its state president, K Surendran. LDF candidate, B Rameshan, is also in the field. There are three other candidates in the field including Anna Democratic Human Rights of India and two independents.

Among them, Ashraf is a local and he has served as president of Manjeshwar block panchayat and zilla panchayat. BJP candidate Surendran has fought earlier from Manjeshwar. Ramesh of the LDF is a former president of Kanhangad municipality.

The division of votes between the UDF and LDF will be decisive to decide BJP's chances. BJP, supported by Karnataka ministers and leaders, is ahead as far as campaigning is concerned. 

UDF has fielded current legislator, N A Nellikunnu, BJP candidate from here is K Srikanth, district president, LDF candidate is M A Latif. UDF and BJP are poised to get involved in a direct fight here. After this constituency was created, only the UDF has registered victory so far. There are candidates representing the BSP, Anna Democratic Human Rights of India, and INL besides two independents.

Uduma has been a strong bastion of the CP(M). After 1987, Congress has never won from here. But this time, Congress is giving a strong fight. CPM's Kunhiraman had won from her in 2016 with a margin of 3,000 votes but the murder of two youth Congress workers at Periya in 2019 has proved to be a setback for the CPM as the investigation has found that the CPM was behind the murders. Balakrishna Periya from the Congress, C N Kunhambu, former Manjeshwar legislator from the CPM, and A Velayudhan from the BJP are in the fray. There is also one candidate from the Anna Democratic party and two independents.

In Kanhangad, current CPI legislator, E Chandrashekharan is in the fray. PM Suresh of the Congress and Balraj of the BJP are in the fray. LDF and Congress are engaged in a keen fight here. Abdul Samad of the SDPI, T Abdu Manad of Janat Dal-United, Reshma Karivadaga of Anna Democratic, five independent candidates are in the race.

In Trikkaripura, the current MLA, M Rajagopal of the CPM has been fielded for the second time. UDF has left out this constituency for the Kerala Congress this time. M P Joseph of the Kerala Congress and Shibin T V of the BJP are in the race. Mahesh Master of the Welfare Party of India, Liaqat Ali of SDPI, Sudhan Vellarikundu of Anna Democratic Party and two independents are in the race.

In 2016, out of five constituencies, LDF had won three, and UDF had won two. UDF had won from Manjeshwar and  Kasargod, leaving the other three to the LDF. In the changed political scenario, a keen fight is witnessed in the Manjeshwar constituency in particular, and even other constituencies BJP is trying to gain an upper hand. The election is proposed to be held on April 6 and the political parties are engaged in the last leg of their campaign.