With the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, both the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) have begun scouting for candidates for Vadakara, a constituency known for its political and communal sensitiveness.

Many Congress leaders are vying to win the party nomination as Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran, who had won twice in a row, opted out of the race after he was chosen to lead the party in the State. Several names of district and State-level leaders are doing the rounds, but the party has not zeroed in on anyone.

In the 2014 elections, Mr. Ramachandran, then Union Minister of State for Home, edged out A.N. Shamseer of the CPI(M) by a slender margin of 3,306 votes. Now Mr. Shamseer, who represents the Thalassery Assembly constituency, is neither keen on fighting elections nor is the party willing to nominate him again.

Political alignments

The Congress hopes to repeat its performance, but this time the electoral battle would be tough with the redrawn political alignments, with the newly formed Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) [earlier Janata Dal (United)] joining the LDF camp.

The LJD has already staked claim to the Vadakara seat though the Left coalition will engage in seat-sharing exercises after the conclusion of the rallies led by CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and CPI State secretary Kanam Rajendran on March 2.

Leaders of the LDF and the UDF believe that the ‘winnability’ of a candidate matters a lot in the coming polls. After the shocking defeat of CPI(M) nominee P. Sathidevi a decade ago, Vadakara is no more a Left bastion. Reasons are many including the dissidence that emerged in the CPI(M) and led to the formation of the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) in the Vadakara region.

Now the RMP, after the brutal murder of its founder leader T.P. Chandrashekaran in 2012, has weakened. But, the party still holds sway over some pockets that could turn the tide in favour of the Congress to defeat the LDF.

The Koyilandy, Vadakara, Kuttiyadi, Perambra and Nadapuram Assembly segments in Kozhikode district and Thalassery and Koothuparamba segments in Kannur district constitute the Lok Sabha constituency. Except Kuttiyadi, all these are now held by the LDF.

However, LDF leaders say that will not guarantee a cakewalk for the Front since the ruling CPI (M)-led coalition has to tackle the anti-incumbency factor though the polls are being held for the Lok Sabha.