LDF hoping to stop UDF in traditional Congress bastion

KOCHI: Ernakulam parliament segment is known to be UDF’s bastion but there were times when the LDF wrested it from the UDF. While the UDF relies much on the constituency’s track record, which normally favours its candidates, the LDF is hoping for yet another breach pinning hopes on its candidate’s merit. At the same time, the NDA is making an all-out effort to carve out a space for itself challenging both the fronts.
In the 2014 polls, K V Thomas, veteran Congress leader, retained the seat by a margin of more than 87,000 votes.This time around, the UDF has fielded Hibi Eden MLA from the constituency. The LDF has placed its faith on CPM state secretariat member and former Rajya Sabha MP P Rajeeve while the NDA has fielded Union minister of state for tourism Alphons Kannanthanam.

Tripunithura, Kochi, Ernakulam, Vypeen, Paravur, Kalamassery and Thrikkakkara are the assembly constituencies in the Ernakulam parliament segment. Among them, Ernakulam, Kalamassery, Paravur and Thrikkakkara are with the UDF while Vypeen, Tripunithura and Kochi constituencies are with the LDF. “The UDF has always enjoyed an upper hand in Ernakulam. UDF workers in the constituency has welcomed Hibi’s candidature with much enthusiasm. The campaign has been progressing with much fanfare. We are sure that we will be able to retain the seat with a big margin,” said T J Vinod, Ernakulam district Congress committee president and deputy mayor of Kochi corporation.
LDF leaders said the Left has a significant role to play in the 2019 general elections. “For more than three decades, my field of activity has been Kochi. The response I get from voters during campaign has been overwhelming. We have been getting support from not only Left sympathizers but also from those who had stood behind the UDF and those who have so far taken a neutral stand as well,” said P Rajeeve, LDF candidate.
With a heavyweight like Alphons Kannanthanam in the fray, the NDA is hoping to put up a good show. In the previous general elections, the AAP had secured more than 51,000 votes, the maximum votes the party could secure from the state. This time, the AAP has decided not to field a candidate. To which side those votes would swing will prove to be one decisive factor. The Congress and the UDF is hoping to put behind them the initial glitches associated with the picking of the candidate but much will depend whether or not the factional issues have been properly addressed.
Hindus account for more than 46% of the population while various Christian denominations, especially followers of the Latin Church, constitute around 36% and Muslims, around 10% of the population.