THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nedumangad is one of the assembly constituencies in the state where a triangular contest is on the cards. CPI’s G R Anil, who is the food and civil supplies minister in the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, would want to continue with his foothold.
The challenge comes from UDF’s Meenankal Kumar, former CPI state council member, who left the party and joined the Congress last October, and BJP’s firebrand leader Yuvraj Gokul.
Anil had a cake walk last time as he trounced Congress’ P S Prasanth with a hefty 23,309 votes margin. This time the situation is more challenging. There is no ‘free kit’ factor, anti-incumbency factor is palpable, and inner party dynamics in the CPI might pose a few hiccups.
Anil, however, seemed confident of doing an encore. “We will win. The feedback we are getting from the public is positive,” he said.
Anil’s campaign is rooted around infrastructure development works undertaken by the LDF. His flagship project is the 21-metre four-lane road from Vazhayila-Pazhakutti road, whose work he said is proceeding rapidly.
“Several projects have been completed, while many are in the pipeline. I am seeking votes on the basis of the development works only and not bothered about the personal insults levelled by the rival candidates,” he said.
Meenankal Kumar is hopeful of making inroads into CPI votes as well and he claimed he has got connections cutting across parties. “I was a trade union leader and a state council member of CPI. There are left people who will vote for me. Plus the Congress votes. I am confident of winning,” he said.
Kumar accused Anil of overlooking the developmental needs of the constituency. “Road connectivity is a big issue. The international market that was constructed still remains unused. Despite being a hub of spice trade, Nedumangad’s needs on that front have been ignored by the LDF candidate,” he said.
Yuvraj on the other hand is riding on a feeling that he can trounce the other two fronts. The total BJP vote share, he claimed, would cross 60,000. “Anil was a failure as a minister and an MLA. When an MLA becomes a minister, it’s normally expected that he would bring in more projects. But that did not happen. The major issues such as development of vital junctions such as Vembayam, Pothencode and Vattappara were ignored by the MLA,” he said.
As the three parties fancy their chances, Nedumangad has got a strong inclination towards the left. From 1957 to 1987, the CPI had a golden run. The blip was brought about by Congress’ Palode Ravi, who won in 1991 and again in 1996. CPI’s Mangode Radhakrishnan won the next two elections, while Ravi staged a comeback in 2011. This intermittent swing of fortunes in the last three decades make Nedumangad an constituency to watch out for.