party-stalwarts-to-engage-in-tough-battle-in-ls-polls-of-kerala

April 26 is a big day for the people of Kerala as all 20 Parliamentary seats will go to polls in the second phase.

 

Fierce battle is expected in several constituencies of the southern state. Notably, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Wayanad. He will take on CPI’s Annie Raja.

 

When it comes Kerala both the Congress and CPI(M) have been ruled by one another alternatively. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the grand old party secured 15 out of 20 seats.

 

Rahul had won from Wayanad in 2019 by more than four lakh votes.

 

This time, the contest appears to be three-sided since Rahul will be locking horns with CPI’s Annie Raja and Kerala BJP chief K Surendran.

 

In Kerala, the main contest is expected to be between the Congress and the Left but the Bharatiya Janata Party is also making efforts to put up a fight in some constituencies like Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram.

 

In Thrissur, the BJP has fielded actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, who is facing off against Congress’s K Muraleedharan, and CPI’s VS Sunilkumar. Muraleedharan won from Vatakara in the 2019 general elections. 

 

The BJP has never won any seat in Kerala, but Gopi hopes to win from Thrissur this time.

 

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gopi recorded an impressive surge in vote share to 28.19 per cent, marginally behind CPI’s 30.85 per cent. TN Prathapan, however, bagged the seat by garnering 39.83 per cent votes.

 

Thiruvananthapuram is another key constituency where sitting Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is up against Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar.

 

CPI’s Pannyan Raveendran may make it a three-cornered contest. However, political analysts are of the view that a tough contest will take place in Thiruvananthapuram, with a very slight difference in votes among the winner and runner-up.

 

The pulse of the ground suggests that there is an anti-incumbency wave against Tharoor. In Thiruvananthapuram. He has been representing the constituency for 15 years.

 

Moreover, his contributions to development of constituency is a matter of concern for the Congress party. Some analysts are of the view that Chandrasekhar might poach on to the vote bank of Tharoor this time.

 

In Attingal, Union Minister V Muraleedharan is the BJP’s candidate against Adoor Prakash of Congress and V Joy of CPI(M). 

 

Pathanamthitta is another key constituency where former defence minister AK Antony’s son Anil Antony is in the fray. 

 

Hence, in this Lok Sabha polls, Kerala’s outcome on June 4 will keep the nation hooked.