Kerala: 5 constituencies of Thrissur to witness tight competition

With Assembly polls in Kerala commencing Tuesday morning, five constituencies of Thrissur district namely Wadakkanchery, Thrissur, Kunnamkulam, Guruvayur and Irinjalakuda are likely to witness a tight competition.

The Thrissur constituency, a traditional United Democratic Front (UDF) stronghold, turned "Left" in the last election.

UDF's Padmaja Venugopal, who was defeated by Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar last time. Left Democratic Front (LDF) jas fielded P Balachandran this time, who is a popular face in the socio-cultural platforms in Thrissur.

And UDF has fielded Padmaja again. Fighting from a city that was her father and former CM K Karunakaran's long-standing political base, it is a prestigious contest this time for Padmaja.

Meanwhile, BJP has put the Thrissur seat in the A-plus category, had been adamant about fielding a candidate with a star image. Thus, a triangular fight was ensured when Suresh Gopi filed his nomination.

Sitting MLA l Akkara of the UDF is facing LDF's youth leader Xavier Chittilappilly in Wadakkanchery. Perhaps the eye of the storm of the LIFE Mission controversy which probes by the CBI on l Akkara's complaint is important for both the fronts. NDA's Ullas Babu is an active presence in the constituency.

At Kunnamkulam, Minister AC Moideen is facing tight fight from UDF's K Jayasankar. ed by the Agriculture Minister.

At Guruvayur, where the NDA has no candidate, both the LDF and the UDF are eyeing the 25,000-odd votes the BJP secured in the last Assembly election. Here, the BJP has decided to back Dileep Nair of the Democratic Social Justice Party (DSJP).

At Irinjalakuda, where R Bindu, wife of CPIM acting state secretary and LDF convenor A Vijayaraghavan, is contesting against Kerala Congress's Thomas Unniyadan, a three-time MLA from the constituency, is another segment facing pitched battle. The presence of NDA candidate Jacob Thomas, former Director-General of Police, too makes the battle interesting here.

The deep-sea fishing deal is expected to be a prominent issue in at least four coastal constituencies such as Guruvayur, Nattika, Kaipamangalam and Kodungalloor. That is why TN Prathapan, MP from Thrissur lead a rally throughout the coastal areas of Kerala against that deal.

Results of the Assembly elections will be announced on May 2.

( With inputs from ANI )