Kerala is debating not development issues but rather controversies as campaigning resumes for elections to the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, from where Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi seeks to make her parliamentary debut, and for constituencies in the assembly of Chelakkara and Palakkad.

The three fronts – the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the CPI(M), the United Democratic Front (UDF) led by the Congress and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP – are clashing to stir up controversy on a subject. another.

The Congress has a good chance in Wayanad, having won four consecutive Lok Sabha elections and Priyanka being a charismatic leader who is expected to attract youth votes. It widely covered villages in the hilly region which continues to pick up the pieces after July’s deadly landslides.

Wayanad will go to polls because Rahul Gandhi, elected for a second consecutive term this year, gave up his seat in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul had won from Wayanad by a margin of over 364,000 votes. His vote share was 59.69 percent. For the LDF and NDA, therefore, this could be a fight simply to reduce the Congress’s margin of victory.

LDF candidates Sathyan Mokeri of the CPI and Navya Haridas of the BJP are targeting the Congress for giving up their seats. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, during his rallies, also sought an explanation on the matter from Rahul.

Haridas accused the Congress of treating Wayanad as the “second” constituency of the Gandhi family and disappointing its voters. Priyanka is also considered by her rivals as an outsider. “The numbers are in favor of Congress. Wayanad is a safe seat for the Gandhi family,” says Jose Sebastian, a voter from Sultan Bathery in the constituency.

Bypassing the Chelakkara assembly is crucial for the ruling CPI(M). The party’s K. Radhakrishnan won the seat in the 2021 state elections while in Palakkad, the Left was in third position after Congress and BJP won.

Radhakrishnan has held the Chelakkara seat for five terms since 1996 and is considered one of the most popular faces of the CPI(M). In 2016, he did not contest the elections, but CPI(M)’s UR Pradeep won. Pradeep is challenging poll bypass against former Congress MLA Ramya Haridas.

The Chelakkara bypass became necessary after Radhakrishnan was elected to the Lok Sabha this year. “The CPI(M) has an advantage in Chelakkara, a rural and agrarian constituency. However, the party needs to understand why people were voting for K. Radhakrishnan. He is modest, down to earth and connects with people. Such leaders are now rare in the CPI(M),” said PK Surendran, political commentator, in an interview with INDIA TODAY.

Chelakkara was shaken by the suicide death of Kannur Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu. in October on the allegations of corruption made by the CPI(M) former Kannur district panchayat president PP Divya.

Divya recently got bail in the case and came out of jail. The CPI(M) demoted her from the party’s district committee to the branch committee.

The Palakkad polls will be a test of the LDF government’s popularity. In 2021, Congress’ Shafi Parambil won the seat by defeating ‘Metro-man’ E. Sreedharan, who was the BJP candidate, by a narrow margin. The CPI(M) could secure only 25.6 percent votes and the third place.

This time, the CPI(M) fielded P. Sarin against Congress’ Rahul Mamkootathil while the BJP threw its weight behind its local leader C. Krishnakumar. The BJP believes in its chances because it won the municipal elections here.

The CPI(M) had claimed that its rivals were using the power of money, which resulted in police raids on hotels, which yielded nothing. Some voters may well see this as an electoral tactic. As Biju Jacob, a voter from Palakkad, says: “It is strange that the CPI(M) is trying to get votes by stirring up controversies rather than talking about development issues or the work being done by its government. Baseless controversies will not help the ruling party win the elections.”

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