Rubber price, beef ban to swing votes

They have contrasting political preferences with the former being a bastion of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the latter of the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Kothamangalam, a municipality since 1978, had favoured UDF except for once when LDF wrested it with the support of the now defunct DIC-K of the late K. Karunakaran and his supporters in 2005.

Although the LDF vigorously campaigned highlighting the plight of rubber farmers and the threat posed by the Hindutva forces with an eye on the large Christian population, the UDF leaders expressed confidence of winning hands down.

“The fall in rubber prices is a matter of worry, especially for traders and merchants in the town," said Jose Philip, a teacher at a local school. “But it is too early to tell if it will bring any electoral dividends to LDF”.

Out of the 31 wards in the municipality, the UDF won 23 in 2010 elections. Observers feel the votes the BJP-SNDP alliance and SDPI corner are likely to impact their victory margins. LDF leaders in Muvattupuzha are confident of winning there as they were dominating it since its formation in 1958 except for a brief period in 2000.

“The LDF will have a comfortable win on account of the development projects undertaken by the municipality,” says P.M. Ismail, a regional CPM leader. “Out of the 28 divisions, we won 15 in the previous elections, but this time we will win much more”.

He also ruled out any chance for the BJP-SNDP alliance to make a significant impact. UDF leaders on the other hand list out many failures of the LDF, especially in controlling stray dogs in the town.