KASARGOD: With the death of P B Abdul Razak in office, Manjeshwaram Assembly constituency — which had gifted hope and despair to BJP, LDF and the UDF — is heading for a byelection.
For the BJP, which is riding the crest of Sabarimala protest in Kerala, the bypoll presents another opportunity in the constituency, which had seen a three-way fight since 1991. In 2016, the party's firebrand leader K Surendran -- who is today at the forefront of the Sabarimala protest -- lost to Razak by 89 votes. It was the BJP's best fight in the constituency. But Surendran challenged the result in Kerala High Court alleging bogus voting.
He had also challenged the election result in the High Court, alleging that 259 bogus votes were cast on behalf of people who were either dead or away from the constituency on the polling day. The court had summoned all 259 voters.