Thiruvananthapuram: The prestigious Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary constituency is witnessing mother of all electoral battles this election. With the UDF, LDF and NDA fielding their best candidates, the constituency promises a close triangular contest. For sitting MP Shashi Tharoor who scraped through with a slender margin against BJP’s O Rajagopal in 2014, it’s going to be yet another tight contest. Despite his rivals raking up grave charges associated with his wife Sunanda Pushk-ar’s unnatural death in the last elections, the diplomat turned politician could retain the seat though his victory margin dropped by over 84,000 votes.
The BJP decision to field former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajashekharan has inc-reased the chances of the NDA. A couple of poll surveys and opinion polls conducted by news channels have predicted victory for the BJP candidate. In fact the BJP strongly believes that Thiruvananthapuram constituency is within their reach this time thanks to the Sabari-mala issue.
In C Divakaran, the ruling LDF has one of the best candidates who knows the pulse of Thiruvananthapuram. A long time trade union leader, sitting MLA and a former Minister, he has worn several hats. Unlike the lesser known Bennet Abraham who came third in 2014, the Left believes their candidate is a dark horse. His candidature has galvanized the CPM cadre in a big way which is clearly evident from the campaigning on the ground.
Both the BJP and the Congress hope to encash on the anti LDF sentiments prevailing among a section of people on the Sabarimala issue. However, there is no clarity among political parties as to how many voters could Sabarimala issue impact in the elections. In the absence of a realistic assessment, the rivals are making claims and counter claims.
The voter behaviour in Thiruvananthapruam has been highly unpredictable which is also evident from the huge swing witnessed in the past elections. The BJP which was not harping much on Sabarimala issue initially, has cha-nged gears midway making the hill shrine its main election plank. Many allege by accusing communists and Muslim League of destroying Sabarimala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attempted polarize the issue on religious lines. It is no secret that BJP sees Sabarimala as a potential Ayodhya issue of the south.
The constituency has witnessed some of the biggest upsets in the past. A young Neelalo-hithadasan Nadar humbled communist stalwart M.N. Govindan Nair, K.V. Surendranath defeated leader K. Karunakaran and V.S. Sivakumar beat Kaniyuapuram Ramach-andran.
While the three fronts are making tall claims about victory, political observers say it’s not easy to read the undercurrents in the constituency. The BJP has put its entire might behind Kummanam. The party is concentrating mainly on Parassala, Neyyattinkara and Kovalam where it believes Nadar Christians and Latin Catholics might help Tharoor the way they came to his rescue in 2014. The UDF and LDF have accused the BJP of pumping money and making promises to woo voters in these constituencies. Union defe-nce minister Nirmala Sitharaman did a road show in coastal areas to woo fishermen. Prime Minister Narendra Mo-di’s public meeting on Thursday is expected to scale up the BJP campaign.
RSS workers from neighboring districts are camping in Thiruvanan-thapuram for house to house marking of voters. But many feel that with the BJP raising the communal pitch, the possibility of getting minority votes looks bleak.
Tharoor on the other hand faced problems from within the party. After apprising the KPCC and high command about the slackness in campaign, the leadership has swung into action. Rahul Gandhi’s rally on Tuesday brought cheer in the Congress camp. The UDF is yet again banking on its candidate's profile as a diplomat, leading author, global citizen and his performance in the constituency.
The LDF on the other hand hopes to get the traditional Left votes in the constituency. Many beli-eve that with Nairs expe-cted to go the UDF and BJP way, the LDF there could be a counter consolidation of Ezhavas in favour of Divakaran who belongs to the same community. Various dalit organisations are likely to back the LDF considering the support they gave to Pinarayi Vijayan's renaissance protection movement.
The CPM leaders are also hopeful of getting the support of a sizeable section of minorities considering the uncompromising stand taken by chief minister Pina-ryi Vijayan against RSS-BJP especially on the Sabarimala issue. They believe that minorities have started feeling that only the Left can take on the Sangh Parivar’s communal agenda.
With less than a week left for the polls, the three fronts are making all efforts to reach out to every single voter of the prestigious constituency and to keep up the momentum till April 23.
