Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: The fierce triangular fight at the Nemom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram is gaining steam in the last round of campaigns. All three major alliances led by the CPM, Congress and BJP respectively, are fighting tooth and nail here.
The NDA is trying to prevent the lotus, that has bloomed in Nemom for the first time in Kerala, from withering. The BJP has fielded a 'strong leader' Kummanam Rajashekaran to assure that it retains the seat. The saffron party's performances in the Lok Sabha and local body polls has added to its confidence.
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Kummanam launched his election-related works well before the polls were officially notified. The UDF on the other hand, which finished third in the last elections, has fielded K Muralidharan with the hope of regaining Nemom. With strongman Muralidharan in the fray, the constituency seems to have gained a new zeal. He recently alleged that the CPM and the BJP had entered into a secret pact for Nemom.
The Left front, for whom a win here is a matter of pride, has fielded former MLA Sivankutty. It has been campaigning for development, which it alleges, the previous MLAs failed to provide.
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Nemom, which traditionally supported the Left and the UDF, changed its stance in the 2016 elections by electing the NDA candidate. This paved the way for the BJP to open its account in the Kerala Assembly. The Left candidate V Sivankutty was defeated by the then NDA candidate O Rajagopal by 8,671 votes. However, it was the UDF that faced a major setback then as its candidate, V Surendran Pillai from the JDU, could pull only 13,860 votes.
