Main rivals CPI(M)-led ruling lDF and Congress-led Opposition UDF on Monday entered the campaigning phase for the October 11 by-election in Kerala’s Vengara Assembly constituency in Muslim-majority Malappuram district with the declaration of their respective candidates. The BJP-led NDA is expected to announce the name of its candidate soon.
The Muslim league, second biggest UDF constituent, on Monday announced that its senior leader KNA Khader would contest in the constituency for the Opposition front. The Muslim league has been contesting in the Vengara seat since its formation in 2011 and its national general secretary and former minister PK Kunhalikutty had won the seat in both elections.
The CPI(M) had on Sunday declared its middle-level leader PP Basheer would be the lDF candidate in Vengara. The party decided to allot the ticket to Basheer, an area committee member of the CPI(M) and the front’s candidate in the same seat in 2016 election, after a bid to find an influential Independent candidate failed. He will file nomination on Wednesday.
The central BJP leadership is expected to announce the name of the NDA candidate for the by-election soon. The Kerala leadership of the party has reportedly recommended the name of State general secretary Sobha Surendran for candidature considering the importance of the by-election in the existing political situation in Kerala.
The by-election in Vengara constituency was necessitated by the resignation of Kunhalikutty as its representative in the Assembly following his election as lok Sabha member from Malappuram constituency in the April 12 by-poll, which in turn was necessitated by the death of former Union minister and Muslim league leader E Ahamed who was MP from there.
As per reports, the Muslim league parliamentary board which met at the residence of State president Panakkad Hyderali Shihab Thangal on Monday morning decided to make Khader, a lawyer, its candidate under pressure from within the party and outside.
The party leadership was in favour of making State secretary UA latheef the candidate till the last minute.
Sources said that the Congress party’s support and his own experience as legislator worked in Khader’s favour. Khader, who had been elected to the Assembly from Kondotty in 2001 and Vallikkunnu in 2011, had not got the ticket to contest in the 2016 election. “The party is sure to score a massive win in this by-election,” he said while responding to his selection as candidate.
In the 2011 election, the first since its formation, Kunhalikutty had bagged the Vengara seat by defeating his lDF rival, KP Ismail of the Indian National league, by a margin of 38,237 votes while the BJP candidate, Subramanyan, could claim only 3,417 votes.
Kunhalikutty retained the seat in the 2016 election by defeating CPI(M) candidate PP Basheer, who is the lDF candidate in the by-poll. Despite the massive anti-UDF wave lashing across the State during that election, Kunhalikutty won the seat in that election by a margin of 38,057 votes. The BJP had then more than doubled the votes it polled to 7,055.
Basheer, a leading lawyer, said after his selection as candidate, “When Kunhalikutty contested the election in 2016, the Muslim league had said he would bag a majority of over 75,000 votes. But I was able to bring his winning margin down, though nominally. So, don’t be surprised if the left wins this by-poll.”
The lDF candidate, who has already started door-to-door campaigning with the determination to meet as many voters as possible before his UDF rival enters the scene, alleged that this by-election was imposed on the people by the Muslim league. “MY campaigning has already picked up momentum,” Basheer said.