The experiment of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in fielding independent candidates to capture Perambra and Kunnamangalam in Kozhikode district in the Assembly polls turned out to be a damp squib, failing to evoke a positive response from the electorate in both these constituencies.
In Perambra, the IUML roped in businessman and philanthropist C.H. Ibrahim Kutty to stand as the United Democratic Front (UDF) independent against CPI(M) leader and Excise Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan. Mr. Kutty not only lost the polls but also made a dent in the vote share of the Congress-led coalition.
Mr. Ramakrishnan secured a margin of 22,592 votes against him. The last time, his victory margin was 4,101 in this constituency. Politically, the increase in votes has also been attributed to the inclusion of the Kerala Congress (M) into the Left Democratic Front fold. The party has pockets of influence among the Christian settlers in the hill region.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader K. Muraleedharan had garnered 13, 204 more votes than his CPI(M) rival P. Jayarajan in this segment of Vadakara constituency.
In the case of Kunnamangalam, the IUML decided to field District Congress Committee secretary Dinesh Perumanna also as a UDF independent to take on sitting legislator P.T. A. Rahim in the segment.
His candidature been able to bring down the lead of Mr. Rahim from 11,205 in 2016 Assembly to 10,276 this time. Incidentally, Congress leader M.K. Raghavan had a lead of over 11, 000 votes against the CPI(M) nominee, A. Pradeepkumar, in the Lok Sabha polls two years ago.
However, the game plan of the party to field Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, M.K.Muneer, to recapture its lost Koduvally seat yielded results. He defeated sitting legislator Karat Razak by a margin of 6,344 votes.
In the previous polls, Mr. Razak, a rebel local leader of the IUML, backed by the Left parties, had won the seat by a slender margin of 573 votes.
Koduvally, known for its own regional politics and business, is traditionally a stronghold of the IUML. Mr. Raghavan had also secured a lead of 35,908 votes against Mr. Pradeepkumar.
However, the decision of the IUML to shift Mr. Muneer from his sitting seat, Kozhikode South turned out to electorally disastrous for the party. Here, the party fielded Noorbina Rasheed, a woman, after a gap of 25 years. She could not strike a chord with the electorate despite being a councillor from the region a decade ago. She not only lost a section of conservative Muslim votes but also failed to get the votes of Hindu community in the segment.
Indian National Leaue’s (INL) Ahamed Devarkovil won handsomely the seat by a margin of 12,459 votes. Mr. Muneer had won the seat by a margin of 6,327 votes the last time. At the same time, BJP candidate Navya Haridas polled 24,873 votes.
