CPI(M) likely to retain Kuttiyadi, Perambra seats in upcoming Assembly polls

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] is likely to retain Kuttiyadi and Perambra Assembly segments in Kozhikode district with itself in the upcoming polls, though the Kerala Congress (Mani), its Left Democratic Front (LDF) ally, has an eye on both of them considering the influential presence of community votes there.

In the 2021 Assembly polls, the Kuttiyadi segment was initially allotted to the KC(M). The party was given the seat in place of Perambra, for which it had staked claim earlier. However, a section of CPI(M) activists and sympathisers openly revolted against the move, forcing the party to change its stand.

Later, the party fielded senior leader K.P. Kunhammed Kutty, who snatched the constituency from the Indian Union Muslim League’s incumbent legislator, Parakkal Abdulla, by a slender margin. LDF convener and senior CPI(M) leader T.P. Ramakrishnan has been winning from Perambra since 2016. According to sources, the CPI(M) is more cautious about candidate selection this time as it wants to ensure a third term for the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government. Each seat is crucial for the party.

The KC(M) was promised 13 seats across the State in 2021. However, after it gave away Kuttiyadi, the number came down to 12. This time around, the KC(M) is keen on getting 13 seats by all means. A senior KC(M) leader from the district told The Hindu on Thursday that the party was hopeful of getting a winnable seat in the upland areas of Malabar. He said that the party may ask for Thiruvambady, represented by the CPI(M)’s Linto Joseph, in Kozhikode this time. “If that doesn’t work out, we will ask for a seat in the upland areas of Wayanad or Kannur,” he said.

Meanwhile, LDF district convener Mukkom Mohammed said that the Perambra and Kuttiyadi seats could be retained by the CPI(M) in the current circumstances. “In Perambra, the incumbent MLA is also the LDF State convener. In Kuttiyadi, the CPI(M) candidate had defeated the sitting MLA of the IUML,” he said. Asked about the KC(M)’s demand for 13 seats, he said that it was unlikely to get another seat in Kozhikode district. “However, they could be given another seat from other parts of Malabar,” Mr. Mohammed added.