hripunithura seems to be much in news with regard to candidate selection for all the three major parties.
With the bar bribery case and the Congress facing the solar heat, the situation seems ripe to break the monotony of the sitting MLA and Minister for Excise, Fisheries and Ports K. Babu.
Opposition has task cut out
Given that Mr. Babu is expected to seek re-election from here, the Opposition have a hard task ahead to get the sheen out of Mr. Babu’s popularity. Even as allegations around him remain, he is a visible figure in the constituency.
In the last five Assembly outings since 1991, he had garnered an average of over 50 per cent votes polled.
Stalwarts of the CPI(M) such as M.M. Lawrence, Gopi Kottamurakkal, and K.N. Ravindranath were unable to tear through Mr. Babu’s popularity. This is despite the fact that T.K. Ramakrishnan had represented the constituency thrice in the past.
However, this time around, the Opposition believes the iron is indeed hot. Though the Left after much tinkering named M. Swaraj as their candidate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named Thuravoor Viswambharan, after some confusion created with cricketer S. Sreesanth.
Characteristically, a Hindu majority with a dominant Ezhava presence, the constituency comprises the working class, both the blue collar as well as the white collar. There is hardly any noteworthy agriculture or industrial occupation, except for the people’s initiative to turn organic.
