Blistering two month campaign comes to a close, over to Kerala voters now

Thiruvananthapuram: With just one day left for the electorate to cast their votes, the over two-month-long blistering Lok Sabha poll campaign in Kerala comes to a close on Wednesday evening.

Kerala goes to the polls on Friday to elect 20 new Lok Sabha members.

In the 2019 polls the Congress-led UDF which won 19 seats secured a vote share of 47.48 per cent, the CPI(M)-led Left Front which bagged just one seat got 36.29 per cent votes and the BJP managed a mere 15.64 per cent vote share.

Thursday will be a day for silent campaigning by all the candidates making the one last call which they think will turn the tide towards them.

Wednesday saw all the candidates and their workers trying to reach as many places as possible and each and every candidate from the three political fronts was heard claiming that they were “winning” and thanking the voters for hearing them out.

With campaigning now coming to a close, calculators are out and the calculations have begun.

Even though there are three main political fronts, one thing that has emerged is there is not going to be a tough triangular contest in all the 20 seats.

Three-way poll battles in the real sense will be witnessed in Thiruvananthapuram, Trissur, Attingal and even in Alappuzha and Palakkad.

In the remaining 15 constituencies it is a straight fight between the traditional rivals and the only question that requires an answer is who will stand to gain if the BJP gets more votes in these constituencies.

This time things might be different and the general norm that if the BJP gets more votes it will benefit the Left, might not hold good.

This is visible at Kottayam, Idukki, and Chalakudy and it is good news for the UDF.

While in seats at Kasargod, Kannur, Mavelikera, Vadakara, Kozhikode and Alathur, the battle has turned out to be a very close one between the Left and the UDF but in seats like Kollam, Ernakulam, Ponnani, Malappuram, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Wayanad, the UDF has a clear edge.

A political analyst on condition of anonymity pointed out that the campaign has been very intense and hence in constituencies where there is a tight fight, a minor swing to any one side can see either the Left or the UDF scrape through.

“The votes of minority communities have also become crucial and could well decide who the winner is,” said the analyst.

IANS