The electoral history of Peravur since its formation is what makes it a coveted seat for the Congress.
Of the nine elections, the constituency has elected its candidates seven times. But Peravur is by no means an impregnable bastion of the UDF as the polls in 1996 and 2006 showed. In Peravur, both the UDF and the LDF are poised for a no-holds-barred battle.
The constituency, which had been electing Congress party’s K.P. Nooruddin, first turned to the LDF when the veteran Congress leader was defeated by a narrow margin of 186 votes. A.D. Musthafa of the Congress took the seat back to the UDF fold by a margin of 1,173 votes in 2001, only to lose it to the CPI(M)’s K.K. Shylaja who won with a big margin of 9,099 votes.
In the last election, the Congress recaptured it through Sunny Joseph.
Whether Peravur will continue the fluctuation of fortunes is the question being asked now.
Mr. Joseph is most likely to seek re-election.
Binoy Kurien of the CPI(M) is the LDF candidate in the constituency.
What makes the unpredictability factor more pronounced in the constituency, comprising mostly eastern hill areas inhabited by settler farmers, is the crisis following the fall in rubber prices. The Kelakam and Kottiyur areas witnessed protests by the farmers against the recommendations of the K. Kasturirangan report. Also worrying for both the UDF and the LDF is the presence of the BJP whose vote share rose form 4,055 votes in 2011, to 7,265 votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and 10,000-odd votes in the last local body election.
