A consolidation of votes against the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and a steady erosion of the socialist bloc’s political clout are among the features of the recent electoral history in the Vadakara Assembly constituency. The upcoming polls will again put to the test if the United Democratic Front (UDF) can continue to be a beneficiary of the political scenario resulting from this.
The anti-CPI(M) sentiment was initially fuelled by the political developments within the party that eventually led to the birth of the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) led by T.P. Chandrasekharan at Onchiyam in 2008. The alleged involvement of CPI(M) activists in his murder four years later worsened the situation. Though C.K. Nanu, as a nominee of the Janata Dal (Secular), managed to win the 2016 Assembly election, K.K. Rema, the widow of Chandrasekharan, polled over 20,000 votes on her own and came third. The final nail in the coffin was the formalisation of the tie-up between the RMP and the UDF, in the form of a ‘Janakeeya Munnani’, in subsequent elections. A major contributor to the electoral success was the solid support of the Indian Union Muslim League, which has pockets of influence spread across the constituency.
