Mukkam was a quiet village on the banks of the Iruvanhjipuzha in the district when the story of Moideen and Kanchanamala, portrayed in the film Ennu Swantham Moideen, happened a few decades ago.
The celebrated village will, however, become a municipality by the end of the November elections with the number of wards going up from 21 to 33.
The election, observers say, is evenly poised when the local body, currently ruled by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) goes to poll in its new avatar.
While the ruling front has pinned its hopes on the controversies and confusion among the Opposition over the selection of candidates, the United Democratic Front (UDF) believes that the recent delimitation of wards, said to be done in its favour, would help it clinch the seats.
Of the 21 seats in the panchayat, CPI(M) has 10 members, while the Welfare Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has one each. The rest is shared between the Congress (4) and the IUML (5). In the changed scenario, Congress is contesting in as many as 20 of the total 33 seats while the rest has been given to the IUML.
With no significant presence of the CPI in the region, the CPI(M) is contesting in 30 seats while the rest has been given to the Welfare Party, which is fielding independent candidates.
The BJP, with its sole sitting seat at Neeleswaram ward is also looking to expand its hold in the local body inspired by the new leadership at the Centre and the increasing influence it has among the majority community voters.
Both the fronts are making tall claims and expressing confidence of coming to power in the new Municipality citing different reasons.
"UDF will get 20 to 24 seats"
“If everything goes as per plans, UDF will get anything between 20 to 24 seats,” says Venu Kallurutty, former block panchayat president and district executive committee member of the Congress.
Despite the complex and challenging situation the new delimitation has created for the front, LDF also is hopeful of coming to power. “The Opposition had no issues to raise against us so far and the emerging situation is very much in our favour,” says Mukkam Balakrishnan, LDF municipal election committee chairman.
