Kerala Assembly Election 2021, Guruvayur profile: CPM fields NK Akbar, drops three-time MLA KV Abdul Khader

Guruvayur Assembly Election 2021 | Guruvayur, a temple town in Thrissur district of Kerala, has been represented by CPM’s KV Abdul Khader in the Assembly since 2006. Khader, who is currently serving his third term, won the 2016 election by 15,098 votes. The CPM, however, has replaced Khader with NK Akbar from the seat for 2021 polls. Although Sree Krishna Temple is the main attraction in the constituency, Muslims form a sizeable part of the electorate. There was a time when Guruvayoor largely favoured IUML candidates and elected leaders like BVS Thangal, PKK Bava and PM Abubacker to the Assembly. After Abubacker left the IUML following a split and resigned from the Assembly, the voters sought a change and elected Malayalam filmmaker and LDF-backed Independent PT Kunju Muhammed in the 1994 bypoll and the subsequent 1996 Assembly election. Meanwhile, the Congress and the IUML are locked in a tiff over the UDF allotment of the seat.

Past election results and winners

In 2016, Khader had polled 66,088 votes against IUML’s PM Sadiqali, who got 50,990 votes. BJP’s Nivedida came third with 25,490 votes.

Total electors, voter turnout, population

Electors: Guruvayur has 2,01,892 registered voters who are eligible to vote in the 2021 Assembly election. The electorate comprises 97,030 males, 1,04,860 females and two third-genders. The constituency has 189 polling stations. Voter turnout: In the 2016 election, Guruvayur recorded a poll percentage of 73.05. Over 1.4 lakh voters exercised their franchise, of whom 64,984 were males and 82,401 were females. Population: The Guruvayur Assembly constituency comprises Chavakkad and Guruvayoor municipalities; and Kadappuram, Orumanayur, Pookode, Punnayur, Punnayurkulam, Engandiyur and Vadakkekad panchayats. As per Census 2011, of Kerala’s 3.34 crore population, 54.73 percent are followers of Hinduism, followed by 26.56 percent followers of Islam and 18.38 percent Christians. Hinduism is the major religion in 13 of the state’s 14 districts. Malappuram is the only district in Kerala where Islam is the major religion with 70.24 percent of the district’s total population following the religion. The state has a tiny population that follows Jainism (0.01 percent), Sikhism (0.01 percent), Buddhism (0.01 percent) and 0.02 percent (other religions). Nearly 0.26 percent in the state didn’t state their religion during the 2011 Census.

Election date and timing

The Kerala Assembly/Niyama Sabha polls will be held on 6 April, 2021 , along with Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The day will also see phase three polls in Assam and West Bengal. The Kerala Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) has a total number of 140 seats, of which, 14 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. The outgoing Assembly has eight female MLAs and rest 132 are male MLAs. The incumbent Kerala Niyamasabha will expire on 1 June, 2021.

Political alliances and Kerala

Elections in Kerala have traditionally been a contest between the UDF and the LDF with power swinging between the two groups. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Congress-led UDF had won 19 out of the state’s 20 Lok Sabha seats banking on incumbency against the ruling LDF. However, repeating a similar feat in the Assembly polls is going to be an uphill task for the UDF. The LDF has not only managed to overcome anti-incumbency in the 2020 local body polls but also managed to make inroads into UDF votebanks, particularly in Thrissur, Ernakulam, and Kottayam districts. The NDA, which is emerging as a third front in Kerala, will be hoping to increase its tally in the Assembly polls. However, given that the BJP-led NDA didn’t meet the expectations in the 2020 local body polls despite making gains, its ability to impact either the UDF’s or LDF’s prospects in the Assembly election remains unclear. Of the seven Assembly segments that are part of the Kasaragod Parliamentary constituency, five are with the CPM-led LDF (four with CPM, and one with CPI) while IUML, a constituent of the Congress-led UDF, is the second-largest party, winning the remaining two seats (Kasaragod and Manjeshwaram) in the last Assembly polls. BJP didn’t win any of the seven Assembly segments that are part of the Kasaragod Parliamentary constituency in 2016.