Bengaluru: T. Siddique, the Congress candidate from Wayanad’s Kalpetta, has secured a massive lead, maintaining a margin of 38,000-plus votes with his closest rival P.K. Anil Kumar of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), an ally of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front. Fourteen out of 17 rounds of counting have been completed, at 1 pm.
Siddique, the sitting MLA, is also up against N. Hamza of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Prashant Malavayal of the BJP, among others. Malavayal is currently in third place, and Hamza in fifth.
Wayanad, a tailend district that borders Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar, is considered a high-stakes prestige battle for the Congress as it is represented by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Lok Sabha.
Previously represented by Rahul Gandhi twice and now by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the district is considered a Congress bastion. Despite poor performances elsewhere in the 2021 Kerala elections, the United Democratic Front managed to retain two of the three seats here. Wayanad has three assembly seats–Kalpetta, Mananthawady, and Sulthan Bathery.
In Manathawady too, Congress’s Usha Vijayan is in the lead, but by a thin margin of around 1,880 votes, O. R. Kelu of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) is in second place and BJP’s P. Shyamraj of the BJP is third.
I.C. Balakrishna of the Congress is leading by 13,000+ votes in Sulthan Bathery. M.S. Vishwanathan of the CPI(M) is in second place, Kavita A.S of the BJP in third. There were eight candidates in the fray from this seat.
Priyanka had spent very little time in her home constituency, as she was made incharge of poll-bound Assam, leaving the Congress in the district to fend for themselves.
Beyond politics, the district, a well-known tourist destination with breathtaking views of forests and mountains, is poorly connected with the rest of Kerala.
Residents frequently rely on Karnataka for healthcare, education, and trade, as the district lacks a medical college and travel to Calicut, about 90 km away, is hindered by a difficult and narrow 14-km ghat section.
It is one of the only districts in Kerala that does not have a medical college or specialist hospital, forcing its residents to rely more on Karnataka.
The issues in Wayanad do not mirror those across other districts in Kerala. Some of the key local issues which became a poll platform include frequent human-animal conflicts and the ongoing demand to lift the night traffic ban between Wayanad and Gundlupet in Karnataka. While the Gandhis have engaged with the Karnataka government on this matter, local opposition to lifting the ban remains strong.
In August last year, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the construction of the Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi tunnel road, a long-pending infrastructure project which is expected to significantly improve connectivity between northern Kozhikode and Wayanad districts.
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) is pinning its hopes on the implementation of such projects to win over the voters in the district.
In July 2024, the devastating Mundakkai–Chooralmala landslide had claimed the lives of 298 people and displaced several families. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a United Democratic Front (UDF) ally, led a rehabilitation initiative by handing out homes to 51 such survivors. It hopes that the goodwill will turn into votes on 4 May.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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