Will Ernakulam stay UDF citadel this time too?

Express News Service
KOCHI: Ernakulam district confirmed its allegiance in the direction of UDF even when the wind blew in LDF’s favour within the 2016 meeting polls and the civic physique elections. UDF’s hopes of retaining its citadel are using excessive on these figures. 

UDF has an edge in seats like Tripunithura, Muvattupuzha, Kothamangalam, Perumbavoor, Angamaly, Aluva, Paravoor, Thrikkakara, Piravom and Kochi, whereas LDF’s likelihood is higher in Kunnathunad and Kalamassery. Vypeen and Ernakulam are witnessing a tricky battle. The candidature of Shaji George as an LDF-backed unbiased has turned the struggle in Ernakulam right into a neck-and-neck bout. 

In meeting polls, LDF was capable of ship a consultant from Ernakulam solely twice since 1957 — author M Ok Sanoo in 1987 and Sebastian Paul in 1998. On each the events, factional feud in Congress helped LDF. Now, sitting MLA T J Vinod is searching for folks’s mandate for Congress once more. LDF couldn’t subject a robust candidate in opposition to him regardless of the assist of Latin Catholic Church. NDA has fielded Padmaja S Menon, Mahila Morcha chief. 

In Kunnathunad, the candidature of Twenty20’s Sujith P Surendran has made the competition unpredictable. UDF has fielded legislator V P Sajeendran to retain the seat. P V Sreenijan, a former Youth Congress chief, is the LDF candidate. Renu Raj, BJP state secretary, is the NDA candidate.

Vypeen is the one seat witnessing a battle between debutants. The fishing row could shift votes as fisherfolks have appreciable affect right here. LDF has fielded Ok N Unnikrishnan, a CPM district secretariat member, whereas UDF has fielded Deepak Joy, a Youth Congress chief. BJP has fielded its district secretary Ok Shyju after taking up the seat from ally BDJS. 

Tripunithura is seeing a repeat of 2016, with five-time MLA Ok Babu taking up CPM’s M Swaraj, the sitting MLA. Former PSC chairman and Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University Vice-Chancellor Ok S Radhakrishnan is the NDA candidate.