Farmers key factor in Wayanad

Kozhikode: A key factor in  Wayanad constituency that  crisscrosses   three districts in  the high ranges is the  farming community.

All three legislative constituencies of Wayanad district-- Mananthavadi, Kalpetta and Sulthan Bathery-- have  coffee and tea plantations while pepper farms are few  due to price fall and hostile climate. The  constituencies also have a considerable tribal population, though in Mananthavadi, the percentage is higher.  Sulthan Bathery is known for the powerful Christian settler population while in Kalpetta,  the plantation labourers constitute the major share of the vote bank. Despite the strong pro-UDF vote base,  the constituencies have supported LDF once in a while.

Tiruvambadi constituency in Kozhikode district is known for  rubber, cocoa, arecanut and coconut farms. With a blend of Christian and Muslim population, the BJP has only namesake presence in the constituency. The three legislative constituencies of Malappuram district-- Eranad, Wandur and Nilambur-- are known for their affinity towards UDF for decades as they are dominated by Muslim population.   

Nestled in the lap of Western Ghats, natural disasters like landslides, landslips and flashfloods are regular during monsoon in all these zones.

The Maoist threat is  present in  all these regions. Bordering forests,   it was in Karulayi forests near Nilambur that two Maoists Ajitha and Kuppu Devarajan were shot dead  by the Thunderbolt commandos in December  2016.  The forest zones of Tiruvambadi and Kalpetta constituencies are connected with forest zones having regular Maoist presence.

It was near Meppadi near Kalpetta where the Maoists kept a few employees of a resort hostage,  who were later released.