Bengaluru: The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) swept Kerala’s Wayanad as it won all three Assembly constituencies of Kalpetta, Mananthavady, and Sulthan Bathery.
In Manathawady, Congress’s Usha Vijayan emerged as a giant killer as she defeated Kerala minister O.R.Kelu, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, by 10,543 votes.
T. Siddique, the Congress candidate from Kalpetta, crushed his closest rival P.K. Anil Kumar of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), an ally of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), by 45,031 votes.
Siddique, the sitting MLA, was also up against N.Hamza of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Prashant Malavayal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), among others. Malavayal came third, and Hamza ended fifth.
In Sulthanbathery, I.C.Balakrishnan completed the Congress wave as he routed M.S. Viswanathan of the CPI(M) by 16,597 votes. Kavitha A.S of the BJP ended third. There were eight candidates in the fray from this seat.
Wayanad, a tail-end district that borders Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar, is considered a high-stake prestige battle for the Congress as it is represented by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Lok Sabha.
Previously represented twice by Rahul Gandhi, the district is considered a Congress bastion. Despite poor performances elsewhere in the 2021 Kerala elections, the UDF managed to retain two of the three seats here.
Priyanka had spent very little time in her home constituency, as she was made in charge of poll-bound Assam, leaving the local Congress candidates and workers 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, 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) had pinned 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 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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