Categorical Information Service
For a mean Hindu, the presence of the famed Sree Krishna Temple makes Guruvayur a holy city. The temple attracts round 25 lakh pilgrim-tourists yearly from inside Kerala and close by states, though the meeting constituency is dominated by Muslims.
The absence of a BJP candidate in Guruvayur is anticipated to depart the hardcore Hindu voters within the constituency in a quandary. That it couldn’t subject a candidate in Kerala’s holy city can be a critical setback for the celebration’s state unit at a time when it has been utilizing Sabarimala as a significant ballot plank.
A senior BJP chief mentioned, “The celebration was uncovered in Guruvayur as there was no different unbiased candidate for the BJP to increase assist to within the absence of its personal candidate. Get together employees should both vote for IUML candidate KNA Khader or CPM candidate NK Akbar. As a accountable celebration, the BJP cannot ask its rank and file to vote for NOTA. Now, celebration employees can vote in accordance with their will,” he mentioned.
Historically, the constituency has been represented both by the IUML or the CPM. In 2016, the BJP polled over 25,000 votes when the victory margin of CPM’s KV Abdul Khader was 15,098. The constituency has been witnessing contests between candidates from the Muslim neighborhood proper from its inception because the coastal areas of Guruvayur and Chavakkad have a big Muslim inhabitants. It’s the solely constituency allotted to the IUML by the UDF within the state’s cultural capital.
Prior to now, the Guruvayur constituency was a UDF stronghold, significantly of the IUML. The constituency had despatched IUML leaders like BV Seethi Thangal, PKK Bava, and PM Abubacker to the meeting. The CPM tightened its grip within the constituency in 1994 because the then IUML MLA — P M Abubacker — left the celebration following a cut up, necessitating a bypoll.
Within the ensuing election, filmmaker PT Kunjumuhammed, fielded by the LDF as an unbiased, broke the jinx. He retained the seat within the 1996 elections by defeating RP Moidutty of IUML by a slender margin of two,836 votes. Nonetheless, the IUML wrested the seat in 2001 by pitting PKK Bava in opposition to Kunjumuhammed and gained the seat by a margin of 9,526 votes.
However the CPM was not able to again out from the race and claimed the seat in 2006, 2011 and 2016. KV Abdul Khader defeated CH Rasheed, Asharaf Kokkur and PM Sadiq Ali of the IUML – the victory margin being 12309, 9968 and 15098 votes respectively.
INFO BOX
2016 meeting election:
KV Abdul Khader (CPM) 66088 votes
M Sadiq Ali (IUML) 50990 votes
Victory margin 15,098 votes
Nivedita (BJP) 25,490 votes
(BJP had polled 9,306 votes in 2011)
