This poll, rebel candidates are cramping a clear prognosis for Thrissur.
The rebels are a headache for all the three major combatants: the LDF, UDF, and BJP. Too many nominations have been filed by those denied tickets by all the three as independent candidates.
The UDF had been gung-ho about an upper hand that it seemingly enjoyed in the city Corporation areas owing to some significant development efforts initiated by its council led by Mayor Rajan Pallan, and also the comfortable majority it had in the last council. But the sordid drama over its seat allocation may appear to have hit the party workers’ morale quite a bit.
The LDF, which has all three parliamentary constituencies and half the Assembly constituencies in the district in its kitty, believes it has a clear edge. However, indications are that the battle may well be triangular, with the BJP too getting buoyant over undercurrents that it sees in its favour.
The intensity of the group rivalry in the Congress was palpable while finalising candidates. The murder of a Congress activist at Chavakkad, allegedly by activists of the ‘I’ faction, apparently struck a raw nerve — so much so that the KPCC and the State leadership had to do the fire-fighting at many stages.
The first sign that things were slipping was the protest that erupted against pitching M.B. Geetha, daughter of Minister C.N. Balakrishnan, as Mayor probable, followed by the fracas over denial of ticket to sitting Mayor Rajan Pallan, which many in the party considered suicidal, until he was finally given a seat.
Youth Congress and ‘I’ group leader Padmaja Venugopal’s lament that they were denied the 'rightful share' of seats, also did not help things.
Thrissur had been generous towards both the fronts in the past. The LDF had won all the three seats (Thrissur, Alathur and Chalakudy) in the last Lok Sbaha elections. The LDF and the UDF had shared seven and six seats each in the Assembly elections.
But the UDF had a landslide victory securing 47 out of 55 divisions of the Corporation in the last elections.
