: After aggressively orchestrating the anti-incumbency drive against the Oommen Chandy government, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) staged a stunning performance by winning 11 out of the 13 seats in Kozhikode district in the Assembly elections, the results of which were declared on Thursday.
In the 2011 polls, the Left parties had won 10 seats, leaving the rest to the IUML of the UDF.
This time the coalition captured two seats, Thiruvambadi and Koduvally, traditionally known to be pro-UDF. George M. Thomas of the CPI(M) won the Thiruvambadi seat defeating V.M. Ummer of the IUML by a margin of 3,008 votes.
Backing IUML rebel
The CPI(M)’s gamble to back an IUML rebel, Karat Razack, against IUML nominee M.A. Razak paid off at Koduvally. He won the seat by a small margin of 573 votes.
However, the CPI (M) had to face the ignominy of conceding the Kuttiyadi segment to the IUML in a no-holds-barred contest. Here sitting legislator K.K. Lathika lost by 1,157 votes to IUML’s Parakkal Abdulla.
The other seat won by the UDF was Kozhikode South, which was retained by Minister for Social Justice and IUML nominee M.K. Muneer. He defeated Abdul Vahab of INL. Like in the 2006 and 2011 polls, the Congress failed to secure a seat in the district.
A. Pradeepkumar (Kozhikode North), Purushan Kadalundi ( Balussery), Kozhikode Mayor V.K.C. Mammed Koya (Beypore), all CPI(M) nominees won comfortably from their constituencies. Mr. Pradeepkumar trounced KPCC general secretary P.M. Suresh Babu by a margin of 27,873 votes. Likewise, Mr. Purushan Kadalundi defeated U.C. Raman (IUML) by a margin of 15,464 and Mr. Koya defeated M.P. Adam Mulsi (Congress) by a margin of 14,363.
C.K. Nanu of the Janata Dal (Secular), who had scrapped through by a margin of 847 votes in the previous elections, garnered 9,511 votes more than his nearest rival, Manayath Chandran of JD (United), in Vadakara constituency this time.
In the four-cornered contest, K.K. Rema of Revolutionary Marxist Party came third. She got 20,504 votes while the BJP’s M. Rajesh Kumar polled13,937 votes.
CPI candidate E. K. Vijayan retained the Nadapuram seat while CPI(M) leader T.P. Ramakrishnan won the Perambra segment. Both these constituencies are traditionally LDF strongholds.
A big win
One of the biggest victories was that of A.K. Saseendran of NCP from Elathur. He won by a margin of 29,057 against JD(U) nominee P. Kishenchand.
LDF-backed independent P.T.A. Rahim retained the Kunnamangalam seat. His key opponent, T. Siddique, lost to him by a margin of 11, 205 votes.
