Neck-and-neck contest likely in Konni

By Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

PATHANAMTHITTA, APRIL 30. The battle of ballots between the politician-turned poet, Mr. Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan, and the KPCC secretary, Mr. Adoor Prakash, is likely to be a close finish with both the LDF and the UDF camps claiming an upper hand in Konni constituency which is considered to be politically unpredictable.

The electoral contest in Konni between the local MLA, Mr. Prakash, and the MLA of the neighbouring Aranmula constituency, Mr. Ramakrishnan, has an added significance in that it is one of the few contests between two sitting MLAs in the State.

Legislators from the Konni Assembly constituency, spread out in the eastern hilly tracts of Pathanamthitta district, have always found their place in the Opposition benches right from its formation in 1965. Mr. P.J.Thomas of the Congress was its first MLA.

When the first Communist Government was voted to power in Kerala in 1957, the then Pathanamthitta constituency which included Konni had elected Thopil Bhasi, veteran Communist, to the Assembly.

The margin of victory in the Assembly elections in Konni has always been narrow, below 1,000 votes in most cases. The sitting MLA, Mr. Adoor Prakash, defeated the former MLA, Mr. A. Padmakumar of the CPI(M), in 1996 by a margin of 806 votes.

In the previous election in 1991, Mr. Padmakumar defeated his UDF rival, Mr. C.P. Ramachandran Nair, by a margin of 916 votes.

It is noteworthy that only twice this constituency, with a strong political base for both the UDF and LDF, had elected sitting MLAs for a second term. Mr. P.J. Thomas of the Congress was elected from here in 1970 and 1977 and Mr. V.S. Chandrashekhara Pillai of the CPI(M) had represented Konni in 1980 and 1982, breaking the previous electoral records of Konni.

And now, Mr. Prakash is crossing swords with Mr. Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan with a firm conviction to break the `tradition' and retain the seat. The UDF began its campaign in the constituency almost three months ago and the UDF candidate almost completed door-to-door campaign a week ago.

Mr. Ramakrishnan has taken his candidature in Konni as a political mission and to uphold his image as one who is capable of rocking the rival fort using both political will and popular image, which he has reportedly done earlier in Aranmula by defeating the CMP leader, Mr. M.V. Raghavan, in the 1996 Assembly polls.

In spite of all the initial murmurs in the CPI(M) camp over Mr Ramakrishnan's candidature, the entire LDF rank and file in the constituency has launched an all-out effort to capture their `lost fort'. The UDF too is not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring Mr. Prakash's victory for a second term by projecting the development works he had initiated in the constituency during the past five years.

The main attraction of the LDF campaign is Mr. Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan himself whose tour of the interior areas of the constituency is drawing large crowds. The politician in the poet often takes a dominant position, especially when he mingles with the crowd, hugging elders and sharing pleasantries with the crowd.

However, the sitting MLA who appears to be confident of a second term claims that he had initiated a number of development projects in different parts of the constituency which none of his predecessors achieved.

Blaming the LDF Government's for its failure in setting up the proposed Konni taluk, Mr. Prakash says that he would exert pressure on the next Government to set up Konni taluk as the first priority.

However, according to Mr. Ramakrishnan, ``one has to visit the underdeveloped interior areas of the constituency to see that all the tall development claims of the MLA are mere publicity gimmicks.''

The Nair, Christian and Ezhava communities have a decisive role in deciding the electoral prospects of a candidate in Konni.

Of the seven panchayats in the constituency, the UDF is in power in Pramadam, Malayalappuzha, Thanithode and Aruvappulam and the LDF controls Konni, Kalanjoor and Kodumon.

The BJP with three grama panchayat members in the constituency is fast emerging as a political force in Konni. There were reports that a CPI(M) member was elected the panchayat president of the Kalanjoor panchayat when the BJP member there abstained from voting in the election to the local body office-bearers.

The BJP candidate, Mr. P.K. Vijayakumar, is confident of improving his party's position in Konni in the ensuing Assembly polls.

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Section  : State Elections
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