The summer rain has helped subdue the intensity of heat in many parts of Wayanad, but the heat of the campaign is reaching its extreme with only a few days left for the Assembly polls.
The poll is most crucial for the United Democratic Front (UDF) and former All India Congress Committee president Rahul Gandhi who won with a record margin of 4,31,770 votes from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Dearth of health-care and infrastructure facilities, escalating man-animal conflict, crisis in the farm sector owing to low prices of farm produce and declining agricultural production, eco-sensitive zone notification, and problems of landless tribesmen are the poll issues here.
Star campaigners
All political fronts have ensured the presence of their top leaders in the campaign front.
Mr. Gandhi had attended roadshows twice. Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala made brief visits to the district.
Left Democratic Front leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, acting State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] A. Vijayaraghavan and All India Democratic Women’s Association president Subhashini Ali, attended campaign rallies.
Union Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah will attend a public meeting at Meenangadi here on April 3 to canvass votes for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates.
The poll is crucial for the LDF as well which won two of the three Assembly segments in the 2016 Assembly polls.
In Sulthan Bathery, a segment reserved for Scheduled Tribes, Congress candidate I.C. Balakrishnan won by 11,198 votes. M.S. Viswanathan of the CPI(M) is facing Mr. Balakrishnan in the constituency this time. Mr. Viswanathan, a former State secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, recently resigned from the post in protest against the alleged reluctance of the Congress to give seats to the Mullakuruma tribal people, a major tribe in the Sulthan Batehry segment. Tribal leader C.K. Janu is contesting from the segment for the second time as the NDA candidate.
Kalpetta, a traditional bastion of the UDF, turned Left in the previous election. M.V. Shreyamskumar who was then part of the Janata Dal (United), was defeated by C.K. Saseendaran of the CPI(M) by 13,083 votes. Mr. Shreyamskumar who is part of the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) changed fronts and is facing a tight fight from T. Siddique of the Congress this time. T.M. Subheesh of the BJP is the NDA candidate.
Repeat show
In Mananthavady, another segment reserved for Scheduled Tribes, former Minister P.K. Jayalakshmi of the Congress won with a margin of 12,734 votes against her rival K.C. Kunhiraman of the CPI(M) in 2011. But in 2016, O.R. Kelu of the CPI(M) captured it by a margin of 1,307 votes. Mr. Kelu is facing Ms. Jayalakshmi again this time. Palliyara Mukundan is the NDA candidate.
A total of 18 candidates are in the fray in the district.
