Kasargod: A Left fortress, Kanhangad has been electing LDF candidates for nearly three decades. The Congress managed to win from here long back in 1987 when N. Manoharan Master defeated Pallipram Balan of the CPI by a slender margin of 59 votes.
The CPI’s sitting MLA E. Chandrasekharan is trying his luck for the second term hoping to cash in on his image. “I was accessible to everyone in the past five years. The LDF seeks votes for the continuation of the development works,” he told DC.
Political novice Dhanya Suresh (Congress) is the UDF candidate. Daughter of senior Congress leader P. Gangadharan Nair, Dhanya has been active in the district Mahila Congress. The UDF chose her after the LDF hit the campaign trail. In 2011, Mr Chandrasekharan had defeated Mr M.C. Jose of Congress by a margin of 12,178 votes.
The crisis faced by the farming community in the high ranges is a major issue this time. The majority of Left nominee P. Karunakaran during the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 in the constituency limits consisting of seven panchayats and a municipality had gone down to 7,715. However, the front’s vote share increased to 20,806 in the 2015 local body polls. Mr M.P. Raghavan is the BDJS candidate.
