For the sitting Congress legislator R. Selvaraj, it will not be a cakewalk in the southern constituency of Neyyattinkara that is all set to witness a fierce three-cornered fight.
A former MLA of the CPI(M), Mr. Selvaraj had won the June 2012 by-election following his resignation from the CPI(M) by 6,334 votes.
Now, Mr. Selvaraj is pitted against S. Ansalan of the CPI(M) and Punchakkary Surendran of the BJP in the constituency that is facing the third election to the Assembly in the last five years.
Mr. Selvaraj won the seat for the CPI(M) with 54,711 votes in 2011. Congress candidate Thampanoor Ravi got 48,009 and BJP candidate managed 6,730 votes. In the by-election held on June 2, Mr. Selvaraj retained the seat with 52,528 votes despite the LDF and the CPI(M) using every trick to defeat him.
CPI(M) candidate F. Lawrence polled 46,194 votes. Former Union Minister O. Rajagopal mustered 30,507 votes for the BJP. The BJP vote share went up four times surprising both the UDF and the LDF alike.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the UDF got an upper hand with 48,009 votes, with the LDF trailing behind with 39,8006 votes and the BJP share dwindling to 28,958 votes.
The LDF coming to power with 22 seats and support of LDF rebel in the Neyyattinkara municipality in last year’s local body election is a cause of concern in the Congress camp. The BJP has managed five seats and is a force to reckon with. The LDF is in power in three out of the five panchayats that fall in the constituency.
Majority of the voters belong to the backward (Hindu and Christian) Nadar community. The constituency has not been politically loyal to any one party or front and had preferred candidates from both the UDF and the LDF in the elections.
