Kuttanad has faced many difficulties in recent times with recurring floods and bird-flu outbreaks wreaking havoc in the region. Further, the constituency has been without a representative in the Assembly since December 2019 after the demise of Thomas Chandy.
The COVID-19 pandemic had prevented a byelection there and after a wait of more than a year, the time has come for the electorate of the Kuttanad Assembly constituency to elect a representative, where a three-cornered fight is on the cards among the candidates of three smaller allies in the Left Democratic Front (LDF), United Democratic Front (UDF) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
In the 2016 polls, Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate Thomas Chandy of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had defeated his nearest rival and United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Jacob Abraham of the Kerala Congress (M) by a margin of 4,891 votes. Then the biggest surprise was the 33,044 votes secured by Subash Vasu of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a constituent of the NDA.
Candidates
This time, the NCP has fielded Thomas K. Thomas, brother of Thomas Chandy from the constituency, while Jacob Abraham of the Kerala Congress led by P.J. Joseph is trying his luck again as the UDF candidate. The NDA, which considers Kuttanad as an ‘A’ class constituency, has announced the candidature of former Alappuzha district panchayat vice president and Communist Party of India (CPI) Alappuzha district executive member Thambi Mettuthara. He will contest on the BDJS ticket.
The entry of Mr. Mettuthara is expected to make the battle for Kuttanad an interesting one, where Ezhavas and Christians form a majority of voters.
8 times with the Left
Since it came into being in 1965, the Kuttanad constituency, where the farmer and agrarian issues always dominate the poll scene, has sided with the Left front eight times in the 13 elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the UDF had an upper hand in the Assembly segment polling 2,623 votes more than the LDF. However, the LDF made strides in the 2020 local body polls by winning 10 of the 13 grama panchayats in the Assembly segment. The LDF gained power in Kainakary, Champakulam, Thakazhi, Veeyapuram, Thalavadi, Muttar, Ramankary, Veliyanad, Kavalam and Neelamperoor grama panchayats. The UDF emerged victorious in Pulinkunnu, Nedumudi and Edathua.
While the LDF hopes to retain the seat carrying on the momentum gained in the local body polls and the split in the KC(M), the UDF is trying to wrest the seat at all costs. The NDA is expecting to repeat the performance of 2016.