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ELECTIONS '96

Women candidates face sticky wicket in Kerala

Many of the women candidates who have entered the electoral fray in Kerala are finding the going tough against their male counterparts. Of the 10 women candidates in the fray, only the two nominees of the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the lone Congress candidate put up a stiff fight.

The lone Communist Party of India woman candidate, 33-year-old Munu Mumtaz, finds herself in the tough Ponnani constituency, where even more powerful leaders failed to wrest the seat from the Muslim League. She has a powerful rival in All India Muslim League president G M Banatwala, who has been representing this impregnable ML fortress for the past two decades.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which fielded four women, has practically no hope of any of its candidates -- male or female -- making an electoral breakthrough in Kerala.

The CPI-M, which had no women representative in the last election, has picked up two lightweight candidates for the prestigious and politically sensitive constituencies of Badagara and Alappuzha.

A K Premajam, who entered the political arena after retiring as principal of the Government Arts and Science College, Kozhikode, was nominated instead of sitting MP O Bharathan for Badagara, a traditional LDF stronghold. This has led to a strong wave of disenchantment in trade union circles, who feel the faction feud in the CPI-M cost the latter his renomination.

Premajam, a former mayor of the Kozhikode corporation, says the differences over her candidature are a thing of the past; the party was now concentrating on retaining the seat which Bharathan won by a massive 79,945 margin in 1996.

Her Congress rival Suresh Babu is not reckoned as formidable. He is a follower of K P Unnikrishnan, who had a firm grip on over the Badagara seat for more than two decades as both Congress and LDF candidates. He was a strong contender for the seat this time too, but senior Congress leader K Karunakaran dashed his hopes saying he did not pass the loyalty test.

Despite all problems, Badagara seems to be favouring the LDF. However, the Congress hopes the perceived Muslim consolidation will vote in its favour.

Premajam's counterpart, C S Sujatha, is also facing a sticky wicket against the Congress's V M Sudheeran at Alappuzha. The trade union factor is very evident here. The Latin Catholic community, which accounts for about 30 per cent of the total electorate, is angry with the CPI-M for denying a ticket to T J Anjalose, a member of their community. Anjalose, who had won the seat in 1991 by 14,075 votes, conceded it to Sudheeran in the last election by a margin of 25,490 votes.

A strong point in Sujatha's favour is her work for the upliftment of women in her various capacities, including president of the district panchayat. This has enthused the women voters who outnumber men in Alappuzha.

Sudheeran, on the other hand, is trying make most out of the anti-reclamation stir that led to destruction of crops and the anti-incumbency factor. He told Rediff On The NeT that the rapport he built with voters as MP and the developmental work he brought to Alappuzha will stand him in good stead. The Congress camp is also pining its hopes on the Sonia factor.

Political analysts predict a close fight in this coastal constituency.

The remaining two Independent women candidates in the fray have not made a mark on the electorate. The BJP, of late, has stepped up its campaign, scotching rumours that it was in league with the Congress. The BJP, which has a woman candidate in Alappuzha, can tilt the balance in favour of the LDF if its full vote share goes into its kitty. The BJP has also fielded women candidates in Manjeri, Ponnani and Kollam.

Elections '98

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