Kerala: Close triangular contest makes poll upshot in Attingal unpredictable
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the state is going to polls on Friday, Attingal Lok Sabha seat is witnessing an intense triangular contest. If UDF’s sitting MP Adoor Prakash anticipated an easy walkover, the entry of CPM’s V Joy, sitting Varkala MLA and the BJP’s union minister of state for external affairs, V Muraleedharan has changed the ball game altogether in Attingal seat.
68-year-old Adoor Prakash snatched the seat away from CPM’s A Sampath in the last Lok Sabha election in 2019 after a long run of the LDF since 1989. He had nursed the constituency well over the last five years. The victory margin of 39,000 votes during the 2019 Lok Sabha election is going to be crucial as it can go to both the CPM and BJP camps. The Congress party’s organisational lapses in Attingal have also been a complex issue.
The Congress state leadership has pinned its hopes on the LDF government’s anti-incumbency and is also expecting a polarisation of minority votes in favour of Adoor Prakash. But the grapevine is that a former Congress legislator who has set his eyes on the Varkala Assembly by-election in case Joy wins the Lok Sabha seat has also given enough disappointment for Adoor Prakash. He has also been highlighting discrepancies in voters list over a large number of duplications of names.
But Joy being a local leader has widespread acceptance among the people cutting across political leanings. His dual role as CPM district secretary has kept him in good stead over his two rival candidates. During his stint as Varkala MLA, Joy had come out with several tourism-related projects as it is a renowned destination among national and international travellers.
BJP leader Muraleedharan cannot be sidelined as he is expected to give a scare to his two rivals as he has been camping there for the last one year elevating his position as a household name in the Attingal constituency.
Muraleedharan’s connections with the echelons of power at the centre saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi and two senior Union ministers, Nirmala Sitaraman and S Jaisankar campaigning for him. While it is almost certain that the Nair and upper caste Hindu votes will go the saffron way, most of the SC and ST votes are also likely to swing this way. Muraleedharan’s stint in the external affairs ministry has kept him in good stead where those students who were expatriated from Ukraine have been working for him in Attingal. His goodwill also saw recently about how three fishermen belonging to Anchuthengu were repatriated from Russia. A section of the Latin Catholic votes as well as the local fishermen votes are expected to come in favour of Muraleedharan.
But it’s the Muslim votes which hold the key in Attingal as it has got a population of around 14% as per the 2011 Census. A huge stride in minority population in assembly segments like Chirayinkeezhu, Nedumangad and Varkala has happened over the last decade.