KOCHI: When the CPM-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF finalised their candidates for the assembly elections, Kochi was among the most closely watched constituencies. In the diverse coastal urban constituency, Congress’ Ernakulam district president Mohammed Shiyas took on CPM’s sitting MLA, K J Maxy.
Congress’ decision to field Shiyas in Kochi was a bold move, with the party opting for a Muslim candidate in a seat where it had traditionally fielded Latin Catholic leaders such as Dominic Presentation and Tony Chammany. The Congress banked on the consolidation of Muslim votes to strengthen its prospects against the LDF. The results, however, indicate that the traditional Christian votes have helped the UDF candidate more.
“More than Muslim vote consolidation, the key to UDF’s Kochi win was that there was a leakage in the traditional Christian votes. In panchayats like Chellanam, where 70 to 80% of the residents are Christians, Shiyas has a lead of 1,500 plus votes. However, in areas like Thoppumpady, Mundamveli and Nazreth, the margins were narrow. Beyond the community equations, we could turn the fight in the constituency into a political one,” a Congress leader said.
For the UDF, the voting pattern remained a challenge, and even Congress leaders had accepted that a Latin Catholic had an upper hand in the constituency.
On the other hand, for the LDF, Kochi was a constituency that gave them hope with a two-term MLA as the candidate, and they ran the election campaign highlighting various projects including the Chellanam tetrapod seawall.
With a strong UDF wave sweeping across the state, leaders had anticipated a five-digit lead, but the margin narrowed to 8,188.
“Kochi has traditionally been a UDF stronghold. Maxy won the seat in 2016 and 2021 in a different scenario with sentiments favouring the Left. Now, with a strong anti-incumbency, we expected more votes to be cast for the UDF there,” another party leader added.