Kerala Assembly Election 2021, Kottakkal profile: Abid Hussain Thangal won seat for IUML in 2016 by 15,042 votes

Kottakkal Assembly Election 2021 | The Kottakkal Assembly constituency, an IUML stronghold in the Malappuram district, came into existence during the 2011 election following a delimitation exercise in Kerala. IUML leader MP Abdussamad Samadani became the first representative of the Assembly constituency on defeating NCP’s CPK Gurukkal by a whopping margin of 35,902 votes. In 2016, IUML fielded former MLA KKS Thangal’s son Abid Hussain Thangal. Hussain Thangal won by 15,042 votes, defeating NCP’s NA Muhammed Kutty. Ahead of the 2021 election, the UDF is confident in Kottakkal since it is in power in all the seven local bodies under the constituency. Meanwhile, the LDF is likely to let the NCP contest from the seat again.

Past election results and winners

In the 2016 Assembly election, IUML’s vote share dropped in Kottakkal to 48.34 percent from 58.91 percent in 2011. Winning IUML candidate Hussain Thangal polled 71,768 votes while NCP runner-up Muhammed Kutty got 56,726 votes.

Total electors, voter turnout, population

Kottakkal has an electorate of 2,09,530, comprising 1,05,740 males and 1,05,740 females. There are 182 polling stations in the constituency. Voter turnout: In the 2016 Assembly election, Kottakkal recorded a voter turnout of 74.38 percent. Of the 1,47,857 who cast their ballot, 69,485 were male and 78,372 were female. Population: The Kottakkal Assembly constituency comprises Edayoor, Irimbiliyam, Kottakkal, Kuttippuram, Marakkara, Ponmala and Valanchery panchayat. 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.