THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: LDF candidate Veena George seems to be having an upper hand in Pathanamthitta constituency given the opposition being faced by the UDF candidate Anto Antony from within the Congress.
The LDF leadership believes that the discontentment among a sizable section of Congress leaders in the district will work to the advantage of its candidate. On the ground, the LDF has an edge considering the fact that of the seven Assem-bly seats, the ruling front represents four followed by UDF in three and P.C. George in Poonjar.
The BJP is pinning its hopes on Pathanamthitta constituency because of Sabarimala issue. In 2014, BJP’s M.T. Ramesh had secured 1,38,954 votes (15.98 per cent).
“With Sabarimala issue working to its advantage, I think the BJP might touch around 2 lakh votes. Their vote share is expected to go up by 4 to 5 per cent. But on the other hand they might lose votes because of SNDP’s stand. On the whole BJP could reach 20 per cent vote share but that will not be enough for clinching victory,” said political analyst Joseph C. Mathew.
Under these circumstances Veena has a fair chance. “Though it is generally believed that Pathanamthitta seat is advantage UDF, by fielding Veena the LDF has raised its chances quite significantly. She is the best candidate it could field here,” he said.
“I don’t think Sabarimala will be the main issue in Pathanmthitta or any other seat. It’s a political election. People are going to evaluate the performance of Modi government. Our strength is LDF’s pro people policies,” said LDF convenor A Vijayaraghavan.
The Left camp is hopeful of support not just from friends but also foes. The stand of leaders like P.J. Kurien who was given a rough deal by the state Congress leadership is being watched watched keenly in political circles. But a section of UDF leaders say that with the central election committee deciding on Antony, the entire rank and file of Congress will work for his victory.
The initial opposition to him will be over once campaigning gets going in full swing.
