THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With April 26, the date for voting in the Lok Sabha polls getting closer in Kerala, it is getting clearer by the day that the battle is primarily between key INDIA bloc partners the Congress-led UDF and the ruling CPI(M)-led Left, with the BJP-led NDA in for a triangular fight in two constituencies.
In the 2019 General Elections, barring the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, the NDA candidates finished a distant third and managed a 15.64 per cent vote share.
On the other hand, the UDF which won 19 seats secured a vote share of 47.48 per cent and the Left Front which bagged just one seat got 36.29 per cent votes.
An analysis of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies reveals that, while the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others claims that this time big surprises are in store, figures tell a different story.
Things may not be as easy as the BJP leadership thinks. In the 2019 polls, only in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency did the BJP candidate get above three lakh votes and finish in second place.
The BJP candidates could manage above two lakh votes in just four constituencies, namely Pathanamthitta, Thrissur, Palakkad and Attingal.
In nine constituencies the NDA candidates mustered above one lakh votes and in six constituencies their candidates could not even manage one lakh votes.
Out of the 20 constituencies, NDA candidates got the least votes in Kannur (68, 509) and the highest votes in Thiruvananthapuram (3, 16, 142).
As things stand now, a very clear triangular fight has emerged in Thiruvananthapuram where the BJP candidate, Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar is facing off against the sitting Congress MP, Shashi Tharoor and the CPI candidate Panniyan Ravindran.
At Thrissur actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi is fighting the INDIA bloc partners.
The other constituencies where the BJP appears to be putting all its energy into is at Attingal, where Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan is facing off against sitting Congress MP Adoor Prakash and CPI(M) candidate V Joy and at Palakkad where their candidate is local BJP veteran Krishnakumar who is facing off against the CPI(M)’s A Vijayaraghavan and the Congress’ VK Sreekandan.
At Pathanamthitta also the BJP is expecting to put up a stiff triangular battle as it has managed to rope in Anil Antony, son of Congress veteran, AK Antony.
However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and AK Antony have already said in public that the NDA will not even finish second in any of the constituencies and AK Antony went a step further to say that the best days of the BJP were in 2019 when the Sabarimala temple issue was at its peak and this time they will only create noise and settle for third place.