Kerala Assembly polls: Poster war erupts in UDF in Kasaragod ahead of candidate announcement

Tensions rise in UDF as poster protests emerge in Kasaragod ahead of candidate announcement for Kerala Assembly polls.

A poster war and internal dissent have surfaced within the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kasaragod in Kerala as the alliance prepares to announce its candidates for the Kerala Assembly elections.

In Kasaragod constituency, posters have appeared opposing the possible candidature of former MLA K.M. Shaji. The posters, reportedly put up in the name of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) workers, urge the party not to field him and accuse him of being an “imported” candidate. They also claim that the “destruction of Kasaragod begins here” and call upon voters to defeat what they describe as “a communal candidate.”

The posters insist that a local candidate should be fielded instead. Despite the protests, there is an emerging consensus within the IUML to field Mr. Shaji from the constituency. The seat is currently represented by IUML’s N.A. Nellikkunnu.

Although Kasaragod is considered a sitting seat of the IUML, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has intensified preparations to capture it this time. The LDF has already announced candidates in four constituencies in the district – Uduma, Kanhangad, Trikaripur and Manjeswaram – while the announcement for Kasaragod is still pending.

On the other hand, both the UDF and the BJP have yet to finalise candidates in four constituencies of the district, with Manjeswaram being the only seat where a candidate has been declared by the LDF so far. The LDF is projecting strong confidence in three constituencies where its sitting MLAs have been highlighting development achievements and distributing progress reports detailing projects worth crores of rupees.

Meanwhile, Kasaragod and Manjeswaram continue to be strongholds of the UDF. Though the Left had won Manjeswaram in the early years and again in 2006, it has failed to reclaim the seat since then. The two constituencies share borders with Karnataka and voters belonging to linguistic minority communities are believed to play a decisive role in the electoral outcome.