Recent political developments in Kerala indicate that the UDF, LDF and NDA are actively engaged in discussions concerning their strategies and candidates for the upcoming elections.
Published Jul 21, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 21, 2024 | 9:50 AM
UDF, LDF and NDA actively preparing for the upcoming elections. (Supplied)
Kerala’s political scene is heating up with the crucial bypolls around the corner.
Rahul Gandhi has chosen to retain Raebareli, leaving the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat open. The recent Lok Sabha victories of Palakkad MLA Shafi Parambil and Chelakkara MLA K. Radhakrishnan, who won from Vadakara and Alathur Lok Sabha constituencies respectively, have led to the need for by-elections in their respective Assembly seats.
Bypolls for one Lok Sabha and two assembly seats are going to be a big test for Kerala’s political parties as they fight for control. Additionally, the polls are being considered as a rehearsal for the 2026 Assembly elections.
Recent political developments indicate that the UDF, LDF, and NDA are actively engaged in discussions concerning their strategies and candidates for the upcoming elections.
Among the evolving scenarios, the only confirmed development thus far is Priyanka Gandhi’s electoral debut from Wayanad. The other parties are still deliberating on their candidates and positions.
Rahul Gandhi secured victory in Wayanad for the second time, winning by a substantial margin of 3,64,422 votes over his competitor, Annie Raja of the CPI.
He garnered 6,47,445 votes, while the opponent received 2,83,023 votes. BJP state president K Surendran was placed third with 1,41,045 votes.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi had achieved a record-breaking majority of 4,31,770 votes in Wayanad.
Attention now turns to Priyanka Gandhi, as political observers await to see if she can replicate the impressive majority achieved by Rahul Gandhi and who will emerge as the LDF and NDA candidates against her.
In Palakkad in the 2021 Assembly election, UDF candidate Shafi Parambil defeated BJP’s E Sreedharan, the “Metroman of India”. The LDF finished third.
The BJP has held power in Palakkad Municipality since 2015 and has seen a consistent increase in its vote share across Palakkad Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies over the past decade.
According to BJP sources, the party has plans to field a prominent and well-liked candidate in its bid to capture the Palakkad constituency.
“While Sreedharan was initially approached for a potential comeback, he has yet to commit to the offer. Another potential candidate being discussed is Shobha Surendran, a firebrand woman politician from the BJP who secured 20.08 percent votes in the 2016 elections. In 2021, Sreedharan’s efforts led to an increased BJP vote share of 35.34 percent”, a BJP functionary from Palakkad said.
In the 2021 elections, K. Radhakrishnan of the CPI (M) secured the Chelakkara seat, defeating CC Sreekumar of the Congress by a margin of 39,400 votes.
The UDF has set up a shadow cabinet and is gearing up for the 2026 assembly elections and focused on drafting a strong manifesto and pinpointing issues to effectively challenge the state government.
To streamline this effort, sub-committees formed in 2022 have been restructured into shadow ministries, giving them a more prominent role in the upcoming campaign.
According to highly placed sources, the UDF, the prime opposition, had assigned the departments in the shadow cabinet to sitting MLAs. The agriculture department is allocated to Mons Joseph and education is to KC Joseph.
Further, the Health Department will be monitored by MK Muneer. PC Vishnunath will have Home and Public Administration. Roji M John and AP Anilkumar will monitor finance.
Issues related to the coastal development will be monitored by M Vincent while environment and wildlife-human conflict is assigned to Sunny Joseph.
“These MLAs will have parallel monitoring on the departments and functions of the departments led by the LDF ministers and will take up the failures and wrong policies of the LDF to the public forum, aiming for 2026 elections,” the source said.
Muslim League MLA MK Muneer, who is in charge of Health in the shadow cabinet, while speaking to South First, said, “This shadow cabinet is not only meant to create political debates but also to identify actual problems and find alternatives.”
He further said, “The current situation in the health sector underscores the need for such dream projects. We need to collect data for the past year as well. After that, we will submit a report and raise unaddressed issues to the attention of the public. This shadow cabinet serves as a blueprint for how the 2026 UDF government will operate. Currently, it has no direct connection with the upcoming bypolls, but it will certainly raise questions similar to those we raise in Assembly.”
Sources close to the Congress high command in the state told South First that although the shadow cabinet has no direct role in the upcoming polls, the issues raised by each shadow ministry will resonate with the public and influence the by-elections.
“In Wayanad, Palakkad, and Chelakkara, we are starting basic activities such as filtering the voter lists by adding and omitting names. Priyanka’s entry into the scene will also impact Palakkad and Chelakkara,” he said.
Renjith, Palakkad CPI(M) office secretary, said, “We haven’t received any instructions from the state high command to begin the campaign. The state secretariat meeting held on July 19, 2024, was not to discuss the bypolls but rather to address the corrections the party needs to make before entering the battlefield. We are fully prepared to begin the campaign once we receive instructions.’’
“We do not doubt winning Palakkad. The candidature is decided by the central committee of the BJP. We are expecting national leaders for the campaign. Not only in Palakkad but also in both Wayanad and Chelakkara, we are receiving positive indications. Now, campaigns are beginning for the local body elections,” said KM Haridas, BJP Palakkad district president.
Since 2004, Priyanka Gandhi has participated in election campaigns alongside Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
On 23 January 2019, Priyanka was inducted into the Congress leadership as the AICC general secretary. Additionally, she was assigned the responsibility for Eastern Uttar Pradesh by the high command. On September 11, 2020, the party decided to appoint Priyanka as the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh.
The biggest question is who Priyanka’s opponent will be. According to close aides of the CPI, Annie Raja is not interested in contesting from Wayanad again. The BJP might choose a tribal woman to contest against Priyanka, according to sources.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
