KOCHI: With Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) leader and former MLA P C George joining the BJP, the Pathanamthitta constituency is poised for a three-way contest in the upcoming general election.
In his 33 years as legislator, George has represented Poonjar assembly seat, which comes under Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency. The BJP, which is expecting to reach out to the Christian community, will pin its hopes on his influence in Poonjar and Kanjirappally regions.
Besides George, his son Shone George, a member of the Kottayam district panchayat, and Kummanam Rajasekharan, former state president of the BJP, are being actively considered for the constituency. The name of actor Unni Mukundan also did the rounds for a while. By volunteering to lead the campaign, BJP state president K Surendran, who contested from Pathanamthitta in 2019, has made his intentions clear this time round.
PC George said he would abide by the party directive. “If I contest the Lok Sabha election, it will be from Pathanamthitta,” he added. Former finance minister and CPM central committee member T M Thomas Isaac has emerged as LDF’s leading contender for the ticket. Isaac has been participating in seminars and meetings in the constituency, further shoring up the speculation.
Additionally, the possibility of former Ranni MLA Raju Abraham being considered cannot be overlooked, given his extensive influence as a five-time legislator in the region. The LDF will look to repeat its 2021 performance, when it won all the seven assembly constituencies -- Kanjirapally, Poonjar, Tiruvalla, Ranni, Aranmula, Konni, and Adoor -- that constitute the Pathanamthitta LS constituency. Its margin in all the seven seats totalled over 73,600.
The stand of the Orthodox Church would be crucial for the LDF. In 2014, CPM’s Veena George managed to garner 3,36,84 votes, against 3,80,927 bagged by the winner Anto Antony, of the UDF. In 2019, too, the Left front benefited from the backing of the church, which is expected to go the way of the UDF and the BJP this time. However, LDF leaders are of the view that the church will continue its backing of the ruling front. They expect front constituent, the Kerala Congress (M), which has two MLAs from the constituency, to also have a say.
Anto, who has been representing the constituency since its inception in 2009, is almost certain to be fielded again by the UDF. This, even as reports suggest that he would shift his seat. Significantly, Anto’s margin has been dropping with each election, from 1.11 lakh in 2009 to around 56,000 votes in 2014. In 2019, this declined further to around 44,000.
“Earlier, there was resentment within the party against Anto. Now, leaders who revolted against him have left the outfit. He would be fielded again as leaders are united in support of his candidature,” said a party leader. Moreover, the KPCC election committee has decided to allocate seats to all sitting MPs, except KPCC chief K Sudhakaran. Responding to the decline of Anto’s vote margin, a Congress leader said the Sabarimala issue helped the BJP corner some support, which led to a decline in UDF votes. “But voters who have seen him since 2009 will give him a thumping victory in this election,” he added.
LDF and BJP candidates have been increasing their vote share with every passing election since 2009. The surge has been particularly impressive in the case of the BJP, which has seen its vote share go up from 56,000 to 2.97 lakh. CPM candidates have registered a more modest growth, from 2.97 lakh to 3.36 lakh votes.