The Election Commission has scheduled the byelection in the Vengara Assembly constituency for October 11, setting the stage for a direct contest between the Indian Union Muslim League and the CPI(M). The byelection has been necessitated by Indian Union Muslim League leader P.K. Kunhalikutty’s resignation after his election to the Lok Sabha from the Malappuram seat that fell vacant following the death of E. Ahamed.
IUML stronghold
In 2016, Mr. Kunhalikutty had won in the Vengara Assembly constituency with a whopping margin of 38,057 votes, which probably shows how strong a hold the party has on Vengara. But, now, the CPI(M) is in power and the party is certain to use the opportunity to put up a fight that sends across a message about how it has fared in the State over the past one year.
In the last election, CPI(M) candidate P.P. Basheer could secure only 34,127 votes against Mr. Kunhalikutty’s 72,181 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party’s P.T. Ali Haji could win only 7,055 votes and, put together, the tally of the SDPI, Welfare Party and PDP was a paltry 6,385 votes. The IUML has already set in motion the process to identify the party nominee. The CPI(M) is also likely to pick its nominee in the course of this week.
Poll notification
The poll notification would be issued on September 15 and the last date for submission of nominations is September 22. The scrutiny of nominations would take place on September 25 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is September 27. Counting of votes would take place on October 15. With the announcement of the bypoll, model code of conduct has come into effect in Malappuram district.
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee has convened a meeting of its political affairs committee on Wednesday. The meeting assumes significance in the context of the byelection.