At first glance, the BJP has increased its vote share in both Kozhikode and Vadakara Lok Sabha constituencies. But a close analysis of the results shows that the performance of the party has not been as impressive as it was in the 2016 Assembly polls.
While K.P. Prakash Babu secured 1,61,216 votes (14.98%) in Kozhikode, V.K. Sajeevan won 80,128 votes (7.52 %) in Vadakara.
In the 2014 polls, riding on the Modi wave, C.K. Padmanabhan got 1,15,760 votes in Kozhikode, and V.K. Sajeevan got 76,313 votes in Vadakara. Both had cut into the vote share of the Congress and the CPI(M) then. But the impact was different. The CPI(M) suffered loss in Kozhikode, while the Congress felt the damage in Vadakara.
Incidentally, Congress MPs M.K. Raghavan and Mullappally Ramachandran, running for the second time then, had won from Kozhikode and Vadakara by a margin of 16,833 and 3,306 votes respectively.
Now, the crucial question is whether the BJP cadre cross-voted to defeat CPI(M) candidates in the two constituencies where the party had little or remote chances of victory.
Another suspected factor in play was the exhortation by Swami Chidanandapuri of Advaitha Ashram at Kolathur in the district, urging the Hindu community to vote for the UDF in constituencies where the BJP had no chances of winning. He is also the patron of the Sabarimala Karma Samiti.
His open call to defeat CPI(M) candidates was not received well by BJP State leaders. But, at least a section could have heeded to his words considering the performance of the BJP in Kozhikode and Vadakara.
This tactical voting is seen in the difference in votes the party secured in the 2016 Assembly polls and the segment-wise votes in the Lok Sabha constituencies now. And, it was more pronounced in the Vadakara constituency. The BJP secured a total of 1,69,597 votes in the seven Assembly segments of Kozhikode and 1,14,230 votes in the seven segments of Vadakara.
