The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) failed to survive the red wave in Guruvayur. N.K. Akbar of the CPI(M) won in the constituency for 18,268 votes against IUML candidate K.N.A. Khader at Guruvayur.
As the lone seat allotted to the IUML in Thrissur district, Guruvayur was a prestigious seat for the IUML. In 2016, CPI(M)’s K.V. Abdul Khader won for 15,098 votes against P.M. Saddiq Ali of the IUML.
The Guruvayur constituency, known for the presence of the famous Sreekrishna Temple, drew attention in this election when the nomination paper of the NDA candidate was rejected during scrutiny. Without a candidate, the BJP decided to back Dileep Nair of the Democratic Social Justice Party. Both the LDF and the UDF were curious about the 25,000-odd votes the BJP secured in the last Assembly election.
Once considered as an IUML bastion, filmmaker P.T. Kunjumohammed, an Independent candidate with the LDF support, stopped the winning march of the IUML at Guruvayur in 1994.
Since then, the constituency had stood with the IUML only once in 2001. K.V. Abdul Khader of the CPI(M) won thrice from the constituency. It had sent the league leaders such as B.V. Seethi Thangal, P.K.K. Bava, and P.M. Abubacker to the Assembly.
Eyeing on the sizeable Muslim votes in the constituency, especially in the coastal belt, both fronts used to field Muslim candidates in Guruvayur.
