Much to introspect for key fronts in Perumbavoor

Considerable drop in vote share of UDF, LDF, and BJP

May 04, 2021 06:36 pm | Updated 06:36 pm IST - Kochi

The key fronts have something to worry about on the outcome of the battle for Perumbavoor constituency.

The vote share of the United Democratic Front (UDF), the Left Democratic Front (LDF), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slipped compared to the 2016 Assembly elections. Congress candidate Eldhose Kunnappilly’s vote share dipped from 44.11% to 37.1% this time despite managing to secure the constituency by a reduced margin of 2,899 votes compared to the lead of 7,088 votes in 2016.

The party’s performance in Koovapadi and Okkal panchayats was not up to the expected level. It seems that a section of the traditional Congress votes in these two local bodies went in favour of Babu Joseph, candidate of the Kerala Congress (M). The performance of Twenty20 candidate Chitra Sukumaran, who came third leaving behind the Bharatiya Janata party in the fourth position, had also impacted the total votes won by both the Left and United fronts.

The Left had nothing much to cheer about even after claiming to have put up a close contest. Its vote share dipped from 39.25% in the 2016 election to 35.09% this time. Ms. Sukumaran, who won 20,536 votes, seems to have walked away with the votes expected for both the LDF and the UDF. The apolitical outfit had a vote share of 14.24% in its maiden tryst with Assembly election.

However, the vote share of the BJP witnessed a considerable decline compared to its performance in 2016. The vote share earned by its candidate E.S. Biju, who came third in the previous election, was about 13.54%. It slipped to 10.5% in this election and party candidate T.P. Sindhumol had to end up fourth in the contest, with 15,135 votes. The party machinery would have much to explain on its poor performance despite increasing its position in the Perumbavoor municipality from three in 2015 to four in the local body elections held in December.

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