Left Democratic Front gears up for byelections

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ruling Left Democratic Front is all set to carry out a detailed groundwork as part of the preparations for the by-elections to six Assembly constituencies.

Without waiting for the announcement of poll schedule, the party wants to get down to business - closely examining the voting pattern in each of these Assembly segments during the Lok Sabha polls, identify the weaknesses and initiate remedial measures right away.

The party plans to identify specific issues and section of voters which distanced from the CPM during Lok Sabha polls. The impact of Sabarimala issue will also be evaluated.

All committees - right from branch, local, area and district - would go into a detailed analysis of the constituency profile, voter profile and voting pattern. For CPM it's a do-or-die battle for regaining its lost base. Moreover, the polls are also going to be a referendum on Pinarayi government.

Going by the ground situation and the political arithmetic, the ruling LDF seems to be having a good chance of retaining Aroor.

Though Shanimol Usman managed to secure a slender lead polling 65656 as compared to 65008 by A.M. Arif of CPM, the marxists are hopeful of pulling off a victory here.

In Majeshwaram, Ernakulam and Pala the CPM candidates managed to get between 30,000 to 33,000 votes. The votes polled by winning UDF candidates in these constituencies were 60,000 to 68,000 votes. This clearly indicates that the LDF would require nothing short of a miracle to pull of victory in these constituencies.

When it comes to Konni Assembly constituency, the vote difference between Congress and CPM is less than 3000. The party is hopeful of wresting the seat from the Congress with effective organisational work and on the strength of the LDF Government's performance.

In Vattiyoorkavu constituency, the LDF slipped further down securing just 29414 votes in Lok Sabha polls. With the BJP set to make an all out effort to wrest the seat won by by K Muraleedharan and most likely to field Kummanam Rajashekharan who came second in 2016, the LDF will be pitted against formidable opponents yet again making things tough for the party.