In the last nine Assembly elections since 1977, the Karunagapally segment has returned candidates of the Communist Party of India (CPI) seven times. In 1967 and 1970, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) veteran Baby John represented the constituency. Only twice, in 1957 and 1965, was a Congress candidate (P. Kunjukrishnan) elected from here.
The Congress has fielded C.R. Mahesh as the UDF candidate. CPI leader C. Divakaran is the sitting MLA. This time, the party has shifted him to Nedumangad and has fielded CPI district secretary R. Ramachandran. The constituency comprises Alapad, Clapana, Ochira, Thazhava, Kulashekerapuram, and Thodiyur grama panchayats and Karunagapally municipality.
In the 2011 Assembly elections, Mr. Divakaran won by a majority of more than 14,000 votes. The Karunagapally Assembly segment falls under the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency and in the 2014 election, UDF candidate K.C. Venugopal secured a majority of 703 votes. Things changed in last year’s local body polls. Except for Clapana, the LDF won in all the five panchayats and wrested the Karungapally municipality.
ADVERTISEMENT