THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seat-sharing discussions within the UDF are likely to begin within a week, with the Congress and the IUML expected to explore options for swapping around 12 assembly seats. IUML state general secretary P M A Salam said the League is ready to discuss the exchange of constituencies that either party has failed to win, if the Congress is willing to consider the idea.
Bilateral discussions between the leaderships of the two parties are expected to begin immediately after the Congress party’s Wayanad conclave. Sources in both parties said seat swapping is likely to be considered in districts of Wayanad, Kannur, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Kollam.
The League has decided not to seek seats in Kottayam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts considering the social and political factors there. In Kannur district, the League is interested in swapping Azhikode and Kannur seats. IUML leader K M Shaji lost the Azhikode seat in the 2021 assembly election. In Kannur, Congress too failed to wrest the seat.
However, the League performed well within the Kannur corporation limits and its outskirts in the recent local body elections. In Kozhikode district, the League is keen on swapping the Perambra seat, where a UDF-backed independent candidate lost, with Nadapuram, which it considers to have better winnability. The Congress had lost the Nadapuram seat in the last election.
There is also a possibility of exchanging Kunnamangalam with Koyilandy. While a UDF-backed independent lost in Kunnamangalam, the Congress candidate was defeated in Koyilandy. The UDF believes that the death of incumbent CPM MLA Kanathil Jameela could work in its favour in Koyilandy.However, no swap is being considered in seats such as Kozhikode South, Thiruvambady and Koduvally in Kozhikode district.
The League leadership has assessed that there is little possibility of seat swapping in Malappuram district.In Thavanur where a UDF-backed independent lost to LDF’s K T Jaleel in the previous election, Congress and League have reportedly decided to field a candidate from Hindu community considering the community equation there. Sandeep
Varier, who shifted allegiance from the BJP to the Congress during the Palakkad assembly by-election, is likely to be the candidate there.
The League is also exploring the possibility of exchanging Kongad (SC reservation) seat with Congress’ Mananthavady, another SC reservation seat in Wayanad. There is also a chance of swapping Congress’ Pattambi with Guruvayur, a seat held by the League, as both the parties failed to win the respective constituencies. In Ernakulam, the League is likely to demand the exchange of Kochi and Kalamassery seats lost by Congress and IUML, respectively.
According to the League’s assessment, Kalamassery has a Hindu majority, while Kochi has around 69 per cent of minority voters. As part of efforts to expand its influence in Southern Kerala, the League is eying Eravipuram seat in Kollam held by the RSP.