Kochi: Muslim League which has a weak base in Kalamassery and nearby areas in Kochi may find the going tough here if a party candidate contests on behalf of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the upcoming Kerala Assembly Election.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) stands a chance if the incumbent legislator Ibrahim Kunju or even his son contests from Kalamassery. Kunju, a former minister, was recently arrested over the irregularities pertaining to the construction of the ill-fated flyover at Palarivattom locality of Kochi city.
These points buttressed by electoral statistics from the recent local body points were raised by the Youth Congress state secretary PY Shahjahan in a letter addressed to the UDF convenor MM Hassan and KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran.
He has also apprised Tariq Anwar, the All-India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Kerala, the electoral dynamics and likely trends in the Kalamassery legislative assembly constituency.
Shahjahan also claimed the public are totally against Kunju and he will definitely lose if AA Rahim is in the fray for the LDF. Hence the Youth Congress has urged the Congress leadership to take over the Kalamassery seat.
Civic poll statistics
In the local body polls the League candidates failed miserably. Only three seats were won by the party in the elections to the Kalamassery Municipal Corporation, Shahjahan pointed out in the letter.
Moreover, no League candidate had won in the Eloor Panchayat. The party put up a miserable show even in Alangad, the base of Kunju. The same was the case in the nearby Kunnukara and Kadungalloor panchayats during the civic elections in December 2020.