Balusseri (SC) Assembly Election 2021 | Balusseri is an Assembly constituency reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste. It is an LDF stronghold where incumbent CPM MLA Purushan Kadalundi is currently serving his second consecutive term in office.

In 2016, Kadalundi​ defeated Independent candidate UC Raman Padanilam in Balusseri by 15,464-vote margin. Because of CPM’s two-term norm, the party might reconsider Kadalundi’s candidature in the upcoming election. Speculations are rife that the LDF is considering SFI state secretary Sachin Dev’s name in the constituency.

Meanwhile, reports have claimed that Malayalam actor Dharmajan Bolgatty has a chance of being the UDF nominee in Baluserri. Bolgatty had recently said that he would contest the polls if Congress asked him to do so.

Balusseri will vote on 6 April, 2021 along with 139 other constituencies in the state.

Past election results and winners

In 2011, Kadalundi defeated Congress candidate A Balaram by 8,882 votes. Kadalundi had secured 74.259 votes (49.18 percent vote share), while Balaram polled 65,377 votes (43.29 percent).

In 2016, the sitting MLA polled 82.914 votes (47.50 percent) against Padanilam, who secured 67,450 votes (38.64 percent).

Total electors, voter turnout, population

Electors: There are 2,17,460 eligible voters in Balusseri, of whom 1,05,004 are male, 1,12,454 are female and two are from the third gender category. The Assembly constituency will have 170 polling stations in the upcoming election.

There will be 197 polling stations during the Assembly election in Balusseri.

Voter turnout: In 2011, 1.49 lakh of 1.83 lakh registered electors (81.5 percent) in Balusseri cast their vote. The 2016 election saw a voter turnout of 83.06 percent, as 1.72 lakh of 2.08 lakh voters exercised their franchise.

Population: The panchayats which come under Balusseri are: Atholi, Balusseri, Kayanna, Koorachundu, Kottur, Naduvannur, Panangad, Ulliyeri and Unnikulam.

As per Census 2011, of Kerala's 3.34 crore population, 54.73 percent are followers of Hinduism, followed by 26.56 percent followers of Islam and 18.38 percent Christians. Hinduism is the major religion in 13 of the state's 14 districts.

Malappuram is the only district in Kerala where Islam is the major religion with 70.24 percent of the district's total population following the religion.

The state has a tiny population that follows Jainism (0.01 percent), Sikhism (0.01 percent), Buddhism (0.01 percent) and 0.02 percent (other religions). Nearly 0.26 percent in the state didn't state their religion during the 2011 Census.

Election date and timing

The Kerala Assembly/Niyama Sabha polls will be held on 6 April, 2021, along with Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The day will also see phase three polls in Assam and West Bengal.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) has a total number of 140 seats, of which, 14 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.

The outgoing Assembly has eight female MLAs and rest 132 are male MLAs. The current Kerala Niyamasabha session will expire on 1 June, 2021.

Political alliances in Kerala

Elections in Kerala have traditionally been a contest between the UDF and the LDF with power swinging between the two groups.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Congress-led UDF had won 19 out of the state’s 20 Lok Sabha seats banking on incumbency against the ruling LDF. However, repeating a similar feat in the Assembly polls is going to be an uphill task for the UDF.

The LDF has not only managed to overcome anti-incumbency in the 2020 local body polls but also managed to make inroads into UDF votebanks, particularly in Thrissur, Ernakulam, and Kottayam districts.

The NDA, which is emerging as a third front in Kerala, will be hoping to increase its tally in the Assembly polls. However, given that the BJP-led NDA didn't meet the expectations in the 2020 local body polls despite making gains, its ability to impact either the UDF's or LDF's prospects in the Assembly election remains unclear.

Of the seven Assembly segments that are part of the Kasaragod Parliamentary constituency, five are with the CPM-led LDF (four with CPM, and one with CPI) while IUML, a constituent of the Congress-led UDF, is the second-largest party, winning the remaining two seats (Kasaragod and Manjeshwaram) in the last Assembly polls.

BJP didn't win any of the seven Assembly segments that are part of the Kasaragod Parliamentary constituency in 2016.