Fight for central Kerala turns highly unpredictable and fascinating
The Catholic Church’s unprecedented censure of interfaith marriage with Muslims, the riotous quarrel between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions of the Malankara Church, the crossing over of the Kerala Congress (M) faction led by Jose K. Mani to the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the turbulences within the Congress and the absence of top Left leaders in the poll fray have all turned the fight for central Kerala into an unpredictable, fascinating and critical one.
The region comprising Kottayam, Alappuzha, Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur has 50 Assembly segments, of which 31 are held by the LDF. It had done well in Alappuzha and Thrissur districts in the 2016 Assembly polls, while the United Democratic Front (UDF) made hay in Kottayam. The LDF retained Chengannur but lost Aroor in the subsequent bypoll.