Kerala Assembly Election 2021, Pala profile: Incumbent Mani C Kappen faces Kerala Congress (M)'s Jose K Mani

Pala Assembly Election 2021 | Pala is a high-stakes Assembly constituency, which was represented by one of Kerala’s most prominent politicians KM Mani, from 1967 till his death in 2019.

Mani, who was the longest-serving MLA in Kerala’s history, was a dominant player in the state’s coalition politics.

Past election results and winners

Following Mani’s demise, Pala witnessed a historic bypoll in which LDF registered its first Assembly win as NCP nominee Mani C Kappen emerged victorious by 2,943 votes.

In the 2019 Pala by-election, Kappen garnered 54,137 votes while his Kerala Congress (M) rival Jose Tom Pulikunnel received 51,194 votes.

After Mani’s son Jose K Mani, chairman of Kerala Congress (M), switched to LDF in 2020, Kappan soon pulled out from the ruling alliance and announced his decision to contest from the UDF. He is contesting the election independent candidate.

With the LDF candidate Jose’s comment that his party was ready to face anyone in Pala, a tough contest is likely on the cards in the upcoming election.

Also in the fray from the seat are BJP's Prameeladevi J, the BSP's Joy Thomas Vazhamattom and seven other Independent canddiates.

Total electors, voter turnout, population

Electors:
Pala has 1,81,035 registered voters who can vote in the upcoming Assembly election. There are 88,231 male voters and 92,804 female voters in the constituency. The constituency has 176 polling stations.

Voter turnout:
The voter turnout in the 2016 Assembly election was 77.25 percent. A total of 1.38 lakh voters of the total 1.79 lakh registered electors cast their vote.

Population:
The Pala Assembly constituency comprises Erattayar, Karunapuram, Nedumkandam, Pampadumpara, Rajakkad, Rajakumari, Santhanpara, Senapathy, Udumbanchola and Vandanmedu panchayats in Udumbanchola taluk.

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 incumbent Kerala Niyamasabha will expire on 1 June, 2021.

Political alliances and 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.