KOCHI: Vypeen is one of the three new constituencies in Ernakulam district after the delimitation.
Even as the name of the constituency and candidates change, the main problem being faced by the constituency - the acute shortage of potable water- remains the same. The new constituency comprises the panchayats in the erstwhile Njarackal Assembly segment, and the Mulavukad grama panchayat which were part of Ernakulam constituency. Besides the shortage of drinking water, the problems being faced by the fisherfolk and various developmental problems are also being discussed in Vypeen, where Fisheries Minister S Sarma is taking on UDF’s Ajay Tharayil this time.
The constituency cannot be termed a stronghold of any of the fronts. Even after the delimitation, the constituency has not changed much. The sitting MLA from the constituency is M K Purushothaman of the CPM. While the LDF cites various projects launched by the state government for the islanders, the UDF points out that the government was a total failure.
“The anti-people policies of the state government has forced the voters here to turn against them. Even amidst a flood of development projects worth `20,000 crore, even a dozen islanders have not got its benefits,” says Ajay Tharayil. “The other problems like drinking water scarcity could not be addressed by the state government,” he said. Even after the commissioning of the HUDCO project, the drinking water problem is a hot issue in Vypeen. The UDF portrays it as the biggest failure of the state government. The LDF says that the state government could solve the travel woes of the islanders by introducing Thiru-Kochi services. The LDF has also promised an Oceanarium in Vypeen if the front is voted to power again.
The LDF pins its hopes on the track record of Sarma who have never tasted defeat in elections. The BJP has fielded Surendran, its constituency committee vice-president. The BJP is also raising the drinking water shortage as the main issue. The construction of the Munambam harbour also could not be completed so far, said N P Sankarankutty, BJP Ernakulam district secretary.
Tourism projects in Cherai and Kuzhuppilly and the delay in implementing the decision to supply diesel at subsidised rates to fishermen also figure in the election campaigns of the BJP. Christians belonging to various denominations represent a majority in the constituency. The Ezhava community also has a significant presence in Vypeen. The Scheduled Caste communities and the Dheevara community also have a say in the constituency.