KANNUR: The UDF leadership is expecting a cakewalk in the newly formed Kannur municipal corporation.
It hopes to win 40 of the 55 wards here despite rebel menace in six of the wards, mainly in the attached Pallikkunnu Panchayat.
The erstwhile Kannur municipality was also considered a traditional UDF stronghold that the CPM couldn't breach for the last many years though the district is regarded as its fortress.
In the previous elections, the UDF tally rose from 25 in the 39-member municipal council to 33 when the council’s strength also went up to 42.
The LDF faced a severe setback as its tally came down from 14 in 2005 to just eight, five years later when the SDPI also won a seat.
The corporation was formed merging into it Puzhathi, Pallikkunnu, Edakkad, Elayavoor and Chelora panchayats, where Congress had an upper hand.
Though the rebels are contesting under the banner of United Democratic Protection Committee, led by sacked Congress leader P.K. Ragesh, from Pallikkunnu region and other divisions, the UDF believes it will not affect the outcome.
KPCC general secretary Suma Balakr-ishnan, who is in politics over 25 years, is widely seen as the first ever mayor if UDF comes to power.
