Kerala Assembly Election 2021, Kalpetta profile: CPM's CK Saseendran pulled surprise win against JD(U)'s MV Shreyams Kumar in 2016

Kalpetta Assembly Election 2020 | Kalpetta is one of the seven Assembly segments under the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. In the nine Assembly elections held in the Kalpetta since 1977, Congress has won four times. Kalpetta will vote on  6 April, 2021  along with 139 other constituencies in the state. Though the constituency has electorally favoured socialist parties and UDF in the past, 2016 was a game-changer. In the previous Assembly election, CPM fielded its district secretary CK Saseendran against two-time MLA MV Shreyams Kumar. Saseendran, a marginal farmer and a milkman by profession, defeated Kumar, a media magnate, by a margin of 13,083. The victory, which came from a considerable increase in CPM’s vote share, became a morale booster for the party. Ahead of the upcoming election, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullappally Ramachandran had shown interest in contesting the polls from the seat. However, a report in The New Indian Express recently quoted Ramachandran as saying that he won’t be contesting the election this time. The CPM is reportedly considering fielding another face in the constituency this time. The New Indian Express quoted sources as saying that there’s a feeling among party members that Saseendran might lose the seat if he seeks re-election.

Past election results and winners

In the 2016 election, CPM’s CK Saseendran bagged the seat with 72,959 votes against JD(U)’s MV Shreyams Kumar, who got 59,876 votes. BJP leader K Sadanandan came third with 12,938 votes. The CPM, which was a runner-up in 2011 with 38.59 percent of the total votes polled, had recorded 48.35 percent of total votes in 2016.

Total electors, voter turnout, population

Electors: As per the final electorate by the Kerala Election Commissioner’s office, Kalpetta has 1.98 lakh registered voters, of whom 97,251 are male and 1,01,347 are female. There will be 187 polling booths in the upcoming Assembly election. Voter turnout: In the 2016 Assembly election, Kalpetta witnessed a voter turnout of 78.75 percent. A total of 1.5 lakh (72,815 male and 77,308 female) of 1.9 lakh registered voters exercised their franchise. Population: Kalpetta comes under the Wayanad district. It has Kalpetta municipality, and Kaniambetta, Kottathara, Meppady, Muppainad, Muttil, Padinharethara, Pozhuthana, Thariyode, Vengappally and Vythiri 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.

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 current Kerala Niyamasabha session will expire on 1 June, 2021.