Kerala Assembly Election 2021, Thrithala profile: Firebrand Congress leader VT Balram won second term in 2016

Thrithala Assembly Election 2021 | In Thrithala, an Assembly segment under the Palakkad Lok Sabha constituency, the UDF and LDF have both alternately enjoyed long-term rule in the past. While Congress was in power from 1970 to 1991, the CPM held the seat from 1991 to 2011. VT Balram’s surprising victory in 2011 by 10,547 votes brought the seat back into the Congress fold. The firebrand young Congress leader’s popularity led him to win a second term in the office in 2016. With the CPM keen on bringing the seat under its fold, Thrithala is expected to see a tough battle in the 2021 election. Various reports have said that the LDF is likely to field M Swaraj or MB Rajesh in the constituency.

Past election results and winners

VT Balram won his first Assembly election in 2011 with 57,848 votes, defeating CPM’s P Mammikutty who polled 54,651 votes. In the 2016 election, VT Balram retained the seat by securing 66,505 votes, while CPM runner-up Subaida Ishac received 55,958 votes.

Total electors, voter turnout, population

Electors: Thrithala has 1,88,457 registered electors, of whom 92,119 are male and 96,338 female, who can exercise their franchise in the upcoming Assembly election. The constituency has 155 polling stations. Voter turnout: In the 2016 Assembly election, Thrithala recorded 74.14 voter turnout. Out of the 1.41 lakh people who cast their vote, 62,225 were male and 79,168 were female. Population: Thrithala comprises Anakkara, Chalissery, Kappur, Nagalassery, Parudur, Pattithara, Thirumittacode and Thrithala 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.