Date:12/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/12/stories/2006051224490300.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

LDF notches up impressive win

N.J. Nair

Wins nine of the 14 seats in the district

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has registered an impressive win, securing nine of the 14 Assembly segments in the district. This is a near-repeat of its performance in the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 and the local bodies elections in September last year.

The Communist Party of India(Marxist) (CPI-M), which had to be content with just one seat (Vamanapuram) in the last elections, has improved its position by not only retaining the seat but also securing five more - Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram North, Thiruvananthapuram East, Neyyattinkara and Parassala. The RSP, which fielded T.J. Chandrachoodan in Vamanapuram, lost the lone seat it contested in the district, while the Communist Party of India (CPI) maintained status quo by retaining Nedumangad and Kilimanoor.

The CPI(M) succeeded in returning all its prominent candidates such as the former Speaker and district secretary M. Vijayakumar; V.J. Thankappan; the former Mayor V. Sivankutty; Anathalavattom Anandan; and R. Selvaraj, who defeated Deputy Speaker N. Sundaran Nadar.

Major setbacks came in the form of defeat to CPI(M) Varkala area committee secretary S. Sundaresan, who lost to sitting MLA Varkala Kahar by a margin of 1,625 votes, and Venganoor Bhaskaran, who was defeated by Transport Minister N. Sakthan at Nemom by a margin of 10,749 votes.

Thiruvananthapuram West, East and Kovalam were the three constituencies that witnessed an intense three-cornered contest. If two Independent candidates in T. Sarathchandra Prasad and A. Neelalohitadasan Nadar seemed to pose a real challenge to the LDF and the UDF in Thiruvananthapuram West and Kovalam respectively, the presence of Hindu Munnani candidate P. Jyothindra Kumar was a bother for the UDF in Thiruvananthapuram East.

Though the LDF replaced Kerala Congress(J) leader Antony Raju with Surendran Pillai at the last moment in Thiruvananthapuram West, Mr. Pillai won with a comfortable majority of 13,233 votes, taking in his stride the bothersome presence of Mr. Prasad as well as by feeding on the resentment among workers over the UDF-Democratic Indira Congress(Karunakaran) (DIC-K) alliance.

While retaining Varkala, Kazhakuttam, Nemom and Aryanad, the Congress went on to lose four other seats, including Attingal and Thiruvananthapuram East, and even traditional strongholds such as Parassala and Neyyattinkara. The DIC(K)'s claims of wielding influence in the district have suffered a severe setback with the defeat of its nominee Shobana George in Thiruvananthapuram West and also of other UDF candidates.

The BJP had fielded candidates in 11 constituencies and extended support to Mr. Jyothindra Kumar, but failed to make any impression. This is likely to spark off a debate over the way the party votes have been polled. For the LDF, a focussed and systematic approach in highlighting the lapses of the Government yielded rich dividends. It succeeded in not merely challenging the development claims of the Government but also making political capital of the chinks in the UDF-DIC(K) alliance.

The LDF campaigners also successfully managed to raise issues like the SSLC question paper scam and the attack on the Neyyattinkara Bishop House. The LDF could have easily won Kovalam had it succeeded in sorting out the differences in candidate selection. The UDF leadership failed to effectively convey the spirit and intent of its ties with the DIC(K) to the grassroots level. Lack of a coordinated campaign also proved to be detrimental to the UDF prospects in the district.