An out-and-out political battle in Pathanapuram this time

Jyothikumar Chamakkala trying to wrest segment from four-time MLA Ganesh Kumar

March 23, 2021 08:31 pm | Updated 11:25 pm IST - KOLLAM

Among supporters: LDF candidate K.B. Ganesh Kumar during campaigning in the Pathanapuram constituency.

Among supporters: LDF candidate K.B. Ganesh Kumar during campaigning in the Pathanapuram constituency.

With all three fronts fielding film actors, Pathanapuram had witnessed a sort of star war in the 2016 Assembly polls. And it came as no surprise when Left Democratic Front (LDF) nominee and Kerala Congress (B) leader K.B. Ganesh Kumar emerged victorious with a margin of 24,562 votes, defeating Jagdish of the Congress and Bheeman Raghu of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

But this time it is an out-and-out political battle with the United Democratic Front (UDF) fielding Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary and Congress spokesperson Jyothikumar Chamakkala while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district secretary V.S. Jitin Dev is the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate.

Four-time MLA

K.B. Ganesh Kumar was part of the UDF in three out of the four terms he represented the segment and in 2016 he joined hands with the LDF. The constituency includes the Pathanapuram, Pattazhy, Pattazhy Vadakkekara, Piravanthur, Thalavur, Vilakudy, Melila and Vettikavala grama panchayts.

UDF candidate Jyothikumar Chamakkala during campaigning in the Pathanapuram constituency.

UDF candidate Jyothikumar Chamakkala during campaigning in the Pathanapuram constituency.

Voters of Pathanapuram have opted for the Left in majority of the past elections, starting from the very first Assembly polls when Rajagopalan Nair of the Communist Party of India (CPI) won against K. Kuttan Pillai (Congress). But in 1960 he lost to R. Balakrishna Pillai of the Congress and in 1965 Pathanapuram was reserved for Scheduled Caste contestants and it remained so till 1977.

In the 1980s and 90s E.K. Pillai (CPI), A. George (Kerala Congress), E. Chandrasekharan Nair (CPI) and K. Prakash Babu (CPI) were elected. K.B. Ganesh Kumar first breached the Left bastion in 2001 as the UDF candidate. Only two candidates, including his father and veteran politician R. Balakrishna Pillai and A. Geroge, could wrest the seat from the CPI in these years.

Tribal voters

The Pathanapuram Assembly segment has an expansive forest area and tribal communities form a considerable part of the electoral pool. There are farmers, plantation workers and cashew labourers, who altogether can sway the verdict in any direction. Development of the segment and welfare measures targeted at various sections are the major poll planks of Mr. Ganesh Kumar. The four-time MLA enjoys huge popularity and a loyal vote bank in the constituency despite all the controversies he courts.

Meanwhile, Jyothikumar Chamakkala, who started off his political career with the Kerala Student Union (KSU), is no easy adversary and is very active on the campaign front. Though the UDF leadership is pinning their hopes on the margin gained by Kodikunnil Suresh in the segment during the previous Lok Sabha polls, the LDF is currently ruling six out of the total eight panchayats that constitute the segment. The NDA, which managed to increase its vote share over the years, also considers Pathanapuram a key constituency.

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