Thiruvananthapuram: Attempts by CPM to wrest its stronghold from the Congress and BJP's bid to take forward the major surge it recorded in 2019 have led to a strong triangular fight at Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram. With three prominent candidates in the fray, the contest has become prestigious too.
Congress senior leader Adoor Prakash's victory at Attingal in 2019 assumed much significance as it had been CPM's seat for 18 years in a row.
Hence, the CPM is considering it as a prestigious battle to pull back the seat and fielded party Thiruvananthapuram district secretary and sitting MLA V Joy against Prakash, who is a seasoned politician with good political and personal connections.
Union minister of state for external affairs and former BJP state president V Muraleedharan is the NDA candidate this time.
In 2019 BJP's firebrand leader Sobha Surendran created wonders as the saffron party's vote share shot up to 25 percent from 10.5 percent in 2014. In 2021 Assembly elections BJP came third in Attingal assembly segment.
While the party hopes that Muraleedharan could take forward the surge to victory, a section in the party is also upset that Sobha was not given Attingal seat this time and was shifted to Alppuzha owing to infights in the party.
Muraleedharan is trying to make inroads into the coastal vote banks of Anchuthengu region in the constituency by making use of his recent interventions as minister in bringing back couple of youths from the fishermen families who were cheated by recruiting agencies and forced to join the Russian military in the war with Ukraine. If that works, it could be a setback to the Congress.
The constituency is also witnessing allegations by the CPM that a prominent businessman, who is the Congress candidate's close relative, is bribing voters. CPM workers even staged a protest when the businessman visited the house of a Congress local leader last night.
"All the three candidates are strong, both politically and personally. Hence the contest is really tight here," said a CPM supporter of Attingal.
Total voters:13,96,807
Male: 6,53,549
Female: 7,43,223
Third Gender: 35
Contestants:
Adoor Prakash - Congress
V Joy - CPM
V Muraleedharan - BJP
2019 results
Winner : Adoor Prakash - Congress
Runner-up: A Sampath -CPM
Victory margin: 38,247
Published 21 April 2024, 06:03 IST