KALPETTA: The political winds in Sultan Bathery appear to be blowing with a sense of increased assurance, especially after the recently concluded local body elections. Long considered a UDF bastion that occasionally flirted with the Left, the constituency is now witnessing a fresh resurgence by the Congress-led front. This momentum comes at a critical time, as the state prepares for the assembly election, providing a psychological and statistical edge to the incumbent alliance.
In the December local polls, the UDF scripted a dream run in Wayanad, with Sultan Bathery emerging as the crowning glory. The front successfully wrested Sultan Bathery municipality after a decade of LDF rule. Of the 36 wards, the UDF secured 20, while the LDF was reduced to 14 seats, with the NDA and independents winning one each.
The UDF also dominated the hinterlands, bagging Sultan Bathery block panchayat and securing majorities in key grama panchayats, including Ambalavayal, Meenangadi, and Noolpuzha. While the LDF managed to hold its ground in a few pockets, the overall numbers were overwhelmingly in favour of the UDF, which now controls the majority of local body wards within the assembly segment.
Having won the seat three consecutive times, the scheduled tribe-reserved assembly constituency is considered a personal fortress of I C Balakrishnan. The Congress has also come to view it as one of its more safer seats in the Malabar region.
“The constituency has been holding firm, and we will welcome Balakrishnan, if he is fielded again,” said UDF chairman for Sultan Bathery constituency D P Rajashekharan. “We will also be open to a new candidate. The recent local body elections saw the Congress and the UDF securing a great victory in the constituency.
We overturned LDF’s hold on Ambalavayal panchayat and Sultan Bathery municipality. We also picked up Sultan Bathery block panchayat. The UDF’s only setback was in Meenangadi panchayat. Poothadi and Pulpally panchayats finished tied. In Poothadi, with a member having left the CPM, the UDF will submit the non-confidence motion to secure power. Following our strong performance in the local body elections, we are confident of exceeding our previous 11,800-vote lead.”
According to C P Jayaprakash, CPM’s Sultan Bathery area committee secretary, “The party was able to increase its vote share in Sultan Bathery assembly constituency in the local body polls. But we will analyse the LDF’s disappointing performance. With Wayanad district on the path of development, we will raise the lack of progress in Sultan Bathery constituency, a sitting Congress seat, in the upcoming election, along with the cooperative bank scam. A strong candidate can prove decisive for the LDF.”
“The BJP has been maintaining a steady growth in terms of vote share in the constituency since the 2024 Lok Sabha election,” the party’s constituency president Kavitha A S said. “The only wipeout for the party was in Meenangadi panchayat. The BJP secured seats in all other panchayats. In Sultan Bathery municipality, we lost three seats by a margin of less than 10 votes. Following our landmark success in Thiruvananthapuram corporation, our workers are energised and ready to capitalise on this momentum in the assembly election.”
Potential Faces
For UDF, sitting MLA I C Balakrishnan remains the undisputed choice, which will set him up for a 4th consecutive term
LDF is likely to scout for a fresh face to break the streak. M S Vishwanathan, who put up a spirited fight in 2021, and a prominent tribal leader from the youth wing are under consideration
NDA is expected to field a candidate who can further consolidate the saffron party’s growing influence. It’s important to note that tribal leader C K Janu, who contested the 2016 assembly election as an NDA candidate, has joined the UDF
The Battle ahead
If the voting pattern of the recent local body polls is any indication, a few of the assembly seats are set for interesting contests. In the run-up to the assembly elections, TNIE calibrates the political equation in select constituencies