Kerala Assembly Election 2021, Kunnamkulam profile: Minister for Local Self Government K Moideen is back in fray

Kunnamkulam Assembly Election 2021 | Kunnamkulam in Kerala’s Thrissur district has been represented by CPM in the Assembly since 1996. Of the 14 Assembly elections held so far in Kunnamkulam, the Left parties have won ten elections, while the Congress has won four. Sitting MLA AC Moideen won the 2016 election by 7,782 votes, defeating UDF runner-up and Communist Marxist Party (John) leader CP John. Moideen is currently the Minister for Local Self Governments in the Kerala cabinet. With 2016 marking John’s second consecutive loss in Kunnamkulam, the UDF is now planning to allot the seat to Congress in the 2021 polls. The UDF is reportedly thinking of fielding John from a ‘safer’ constituency.

Past election results and winners

The CPM won the 2011 and 2016 polls with vote shares of 44.34 percent and 41.92 percent, respectively. In 2016, CPM winner AC Moideen polled 63,274 votes against CMP’s CP John, who got 55,492 votes. BJP’s KK Aneeshkumar came third with 29,325 votes.

Total electors, voter turnout, population

Electors: A total of 1.89 lakh registered Kunnamkulam voters, comprising 91,682 males, 97,639 females and two third-genders, can exercise their franchise in the 2021 Assembly election. The constituency has 174 polling stations. Voter turnout: In the 2016 Assembly election, 78.74 percent voter turnout was seen in the constituency. Out of the 1.5 lakh who cast their vote, 69,826 were males and 80,603 were females. Population: The Kunnamkulam Assembly constituency comprises Kunnamkulam municipality and Chowannur, Erumapetty, Kadangode, Kadavallur, Kattakampal, Porkulam and Velur 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.