Kerala Assembly Election 2021, Kodungallur profile: CPI's VR Sunil Kumar wrested seat from Congress in 2016

Kodungallur Assembly Election 2021 | The Kodungallur Assembly constituency is a Left stronghold in Kerala’s Thrissur district. The Kodungallur Assembly constituency will vote on  6 April, 2021 , along with the rest of Kerala.

Past election results and winners

Out of the 14 Assembly elections held in Kodungallur, the CPI won 11 times, while Congress managed to win twice and Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy won once. E Gopalakrishna Menon—independent India’s first communist legislator who was elected to Travancore-Cochin Assembly in 1949—served as a Kodungallur MLA for two terms: from 1957 to 1960, and 1970 to 1977. Another tall leader who represented the constituency was CPI’s VK Rajan, who served for four terms from 1977 to 1991. Incumbent Thrissur Lok Sabha MP and Congress leader TN Prathapan had won the seat in 2011. The LDF captured the seat in 2016 with CPI’s VR Sunil Kumar defeating Congress’ KP Dhanapalan by 22,791 votes. Kumar polled 67,909 votes, against Dhanapalan, who got 45,118 votes. BDJS nominee Sangeetha came third with 32,793 votes.

Total electors, voter turnout, population

Electors: As per the final electorate published by the Election Commission in January, Kodungallur has 1,86,755 voters who can exercise their franchise in the upcoming Assembly election. A total of 90,615 males, 96,139 females and one third-gender make up the electorate. There are 174 polling stations in this constituency. Voter turnout: Kodungallur witnessed 79.24 voter turnout during the 2016 Assembly election. Over 1.47 lakh voters cast their ballot, of whom 69,732 were males and 78,182 were females. Population: The Kodungallur Assembly constituency comprises Kodungallur municipality and Methala, Poyya, Annamanada, Kuzhur, Mala, Puthenchira and Vellangallur 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.