If the United Democratic Front (UDF) fails to come to power in the newly upgraded Municipality of Ramanattukara in Kozhikode, the front will only have the internal bickering and groupism in the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) to blame for.
IUML partner, Congress, and the CPI, a constituent of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), also have their share of rebels in one division each in the municipality. However, the IUML has five rebel candidates, including in some of the important divisions where the party has fielded its senior leaders. No consensus has been reached on the rebels even as the last date for withdrawing the nomination ended on Saturday.
The municipal election of Ramanattukara, where the UDF was in power for the last five years when it was a panchayat, is considered important by both the fronts as it is regarded as an important “entry point” to the city of Kozhikode. The busy town, where the roads to the University of Calicut and the Calicut International Airport meet also has its own serious developmental issues, including the “still-on--paper” knowledge park and the yet-to-be-materialised modern fish market.
With as many as eight seats to its credit in the previous 19-member panchayat council, IUML is the major force in the panchayat, where the Congress is only three-member strong.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) also is equally strong with eight members in the last panchayat. However, their major partner CPI had no ward members last time. The battle will be tight for both the fronts when the election is being held to the 31 divisions of the new municipality.
Going all out to win
With more than three senior leaders, including the present president N.C. Hamsakoya, in the fray, the IUML is going all out to win the local body when it assumes the new status of a municipality. “However the threat of rebel candidates is posing a real challenge to the front,” says N. Sadasivan, a senior leader of the UDF from Ramanattukara.
To boot, the LDF is also raising the issue of “lack of development” during the last five years. The UDF, according to Vazhayil Balakrishnan, Area Committee secretary of CPI(M) did “nothing” in the developmental front. All their promises including that of a community hall, modern fish market, renovation of Kettupalam Thodu and the Knowledge Park, still find place only in the election manifesto, he says.
