Traditionally, elections in Attingal have resembled the title race in Spanish La Liga – a two-horse race. There is not much difference this time either, despite the demarcation of the constituency and changes in political landscape of Kerala. The CPI(M) candidate, Adv. Sampath, had the edge at the early stage of campaigning – just like Barcelona blazed away during the first half of La Liga in this season. However, the Congress candidate, Prof. G. Balachandran, has been doing well in playing catching up, surprising even the Congress workers. There are other candidates in the fray, such as Thottakkadu Sasi of BJP and cine actor Sreenath of Siva Sena.
Geography
Attingal is one of the new constituencies that have come up as a result of the demarcation process of parliament constituencies. It encompasses almost the whole area of the erstwhile Chirayinkeezhu constituency plus some regions such as Aruvikkara and Kattakkada. It stretches from Kattakkada in the south to Pallickal in the north. Two famous tourist spots in these parts, Varkkala beach and Ponmudi hill station, form part of the western and eastern borders of the constituency, respectively. The Kerala assembly constituencies in this parliament constituency are Aryanad, Nedumangadu, Vamanapuram, Kazhakkoottam, Kilimanoor, Attingal, and Varkkala.
History
For the last five elections, CPI (M) candidates had been the clear winners in the four elections. Susheela Gopalan started the trend in 1991. Five years later, Adv. Sampath himself contested here and won handsomely. That Lok Sabha lasted just two years. However, Sampath went out of favor of the official leadership of CPI(M) and in the election in 1998, Varkkala Radhakrishnan contested for LDF and won. He contested again in 2004 and easily won the seat. It was rumored he was keen to contest on this time also. However, there were not enough takers in the party for the idea. One possible reason for this could be the fast deteriorating hearing ability of Varkkala Radhakrishnan. Previously he was affectionately called Annan (means elder brother). Now he is being called – not so affectionately – Pottan (means a deaf person).
However, the constituency is not by any means a red bastion. Thalekkunnil Basheer, a popular leader of Congress in these parts, won here consecutively in 1984 and 1989. The sympathy waves arose from the assassinations of Indira Gandhi (in 1984) and Rajeev Gandhi (1989) acted as catalysts for these victories. Click here for more historical information.
PS: There has been a long delay in posting, only because other personal and professional matters required top priority. I understand from web traffic statistics that there are a handful of regular readers. I apologize to them. I will be posting regularly, at least the election news.
Geography
Attingal is one of the new constituencies that have come up as a result of the demarcation process of parliament constituencies. It encompasses almost the whole area of the erstwhile Chirayinkeezhu constituency plus some regions such as Aruvikkara and Kattakkada. It stretches from Kattakkada in the south to Pallickal in the north. Two famous tourist spots in these parts, Varkkala beach and Ponmudi hill station, form part of the western and eastern borders of the constituency, respectively. The Kerala assembly constituencies in this parliament constituency are Aryanad, Nedumangadu, Vamanapuram, Kazhakkoottam, Kilimanoor, Attingal, and Varkkala.
History
For the last five elections, CPI (M) candidates had been the clear winners in the four elections. Susheela Gopalan started the trend in 1991. Five years later, Adv. Sampath himself contested here and won handsomely. That Lok Sabha lasted just two years. However, Sampath went out of favor of the official leadership of CPI(M) and in the election in 1998, Varkkala Radhakrishnan contested for LDF and won. He contested again in 2004 and easily won the seat. It was rumored he was keen to contest on this time also. However, there were not enough takers in the party for the idea. One possible reason for this could be the fast deteriorating hearing ability of Varkkala Radhakrishnan. Previously he was affectionately called Annan (means elder brother). Now he is being called – not so affectionately – Pottan (means a deaf person).
However, the constituency is not by any means a red bastion. Thalekkunnil Basheer, a popular leader of Congress in these parts, won here consecutively in 1984 and 1989. The sympathy waves arose from the assassinations of Indira Gandhi (in 1984) and Rajeev Gandhi (1989) acted as catalysts for these victories. Click here for more historical information.
PS: There has been a long delay in posting, only because other personal and professional matters required top priority. I understand from web traffic statistics that there are a handful of regular readers. I apologize to them. I will be posting regularly, at least the election news.
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