Devikulam: Fronts fear re-emergence of women power

The Devikulam constituency has the unique feature of the tea estates of Munnar on the one side and the vegetable cultivating villages of Kanthallur and Vattavada on the other.

Tamil estate workers constitute a major segment of the 1,63,128 voters, of which 74,711 are men and 81,150 women. Like other constituencies in the district, women outnumber men here.

Devikulam and Munnar have been in the news after a collective of women estate workers, Pengal Otrumai, successfully led an agitation against exploitation of estate workers and fielded candidates in the last local body elections.

A division of the Devikulam block panchayat and two wards of the Munnar grama panchayat were won by the Pengal Otrumai.

This is the first Assembly election after the creation of the Pengal Otrumai.

Since the creation of the constituency in 1965, 12 Assembly elections have been held. Seven terms the constituency was represented in the Assembly by the LDF and five by the UDF.

S. Rajendran of the LDF won the election in the last two terms in this reserved constituency.

There are 12 grama panchayats that fall in the constituency and the LDF rules seven of them.

Though Mr. Rajendran defeated UDF candidate A.K. Mani in the last two elections, Mr. Mani had represented the constituency consecutively for three terms.

The BJP and the AIADMK have considerable clout among the voters.

In the last Lok Sabha election, the LDF-supported High-range Protection Council candidate won a majority of 9,121 votes in the Devikulam Assembly segment.

The remote tribal grama panchayat of Edamalakkudy is part of the e constituency.