THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was little over a year ago that centrist Vattiyoorkavu proved most poll pundits wrong by taking a sharp turn towards the Left. Though known as a UDF bastion since its inception and also as a BJP stronghold, the constituency chose the LDF in the 2019 assembly by-poll. The mandate of Vattiyoorkavu, according to political observers, gave out a strong message across the state that development triumphs over all other issues including caste and party politics.
The LDF, which was relegated to the third spot in the constituency in assembly and parliament elections since 2014, won the 2019 by-poll with an impressive margin of over 14,000 votes. No wonder that the CPMled front has once again fielded their young legislator V K Prasanth, who is popularly known in the constituency now as ‘MLA Bro’. ‘Rs 1,123 crore worth of development in 500 days’ - that’s the LDF’s report card to the voters of the constituency. The LDF also claims 106 key road stretches in the constituency were brought to good shape over the past 15 months.
The pictures of Prasanth standing beside a roadroller and overseeing road work is being widely circulated on social media to depict the young MLA as a mascot of development. “Our rivals are trying to relegate development to the background, but the work we have done in the constituency in a limited span is for all to see. We have made remarkable progress in terms of the initial work towards the Vattiyoorkavu junction development and hope to complete it soon,” Prasanth told TINE in the midst of his campaign at Sasthamangalam. BJP district president and NDA candidate V V Rajesh vehemently refutes Prasanth’s claim. “Can they show any visible development in the constituency other than the maintenance of roads which is a routine affair?” he asks.
The NDA candidate reminded that along with lack of development, the attempts to wreck the beliefs and customs of Sabarimala temple will also weigh heavily against the LDF. Vattiyoorkavu has offered a mixed bag to the BJP. The saffron party, which was in third place in the 2011 assembly election, jumped to first place when O Rajagopal contested in the Thiruvananthapuram parliament seat. However in the 2016 assembly election, the party had to be content with second place. In the 2019 parliament election too, BJP finished second in Vattiyoorkavu assembly segment. The 2019 bypoll saw the saffron party being pushed to the third spot again.
Meanwhile, the Congress-led UDF is looking to restore its lost glory. Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan was chosen from Vattiyoorkavu twice after the constituency came into existence following delimitation in 2011. After being elected MP in 2019, he resigned with nearly a year and a half of his second term left, thereby necessitating a bypoll. In a bid to vie with young candidates fielded by the LDF and NDA, the UDF too has chosen a young Mahila Congress leader Veena S Nair as its candidate. “Most of the projects, including Vattiyoorkavu junction development, were piloted during the tenure of K Muraleedharan.
Despite tall claims, the sitting MLA has not been able to complete most of these projects,” Veena said while campaigning in Kachani. She also reminded that development and belief are the two issues that have taken centre stage in the constituency. As Vattiyoorkavu is a predominantly Nair-dominated constituency, both BJP and the UDF hope to cash in on any negative sentiment against the LDF government on Sabarimala, despite the issue proving to be a dud in the recent bypoll. The LDF on the other hand eyes the votes for development, especially of youngsters, that had cut across party lines last time.