A Kottayam affair with Perambra

Kozhikode: Mr  Mohammad Iqbal,  UDF (KC-M) candidate in Perambra is unique. The voters of Perambra   are used to seeing  the  imported UDF candidates from Kottayam  just a few months ahead of the election. They  come down as strangers  and converse with a  ‘Kottayam accent.’   By the time the candidate becomes familiar with the place, the election would have been over and the unfortunate person returns defeated.

But Mr Mohammad Iqbal has bucked the  trend. He did not leave  Perambra unlike his predecessors after he  was defeated  by CPM’s K. Kunjammad Master with a margin of  15,269 votes in 2011.  A practising advocate in High Court, Mr Iqbal shuttled between Kottayam and Perambra  all these  years and spent most of the time in Perambra. “I was smitten by the warmth of the local people  and decided to settle down here. It was due to my profession I have to shuttle between Kochi, Kottayam and Perambra. But most of the time, I am here,”  he told DC. Besides becoming a localite  and   every marriage and funeral in the constituency, he has extended his help for some projects in Perambra.

“Using his influence with minister K.M Mani, he  brought some minor road development  and irrigation projects to Perambra. The Muliyangal-Chenoly road is testimony to this,” says Sadashivan Nair, a local resident.  Perambra is a  red citadel for him to crack. It had stood with the CPM in 11 of the total 14 elections held so far. Except for K.A Devasya, all other candidates fielded by the Kerala Congress here were from southern Kerala.

“Perambra has now become my native place. I know  every nook and cranny of the constituency and is hopeful of victory this time,” says Mr Iqbal. He pins hops on the 1175 vote lead secured by Mr Mullapally Ramachandran in the last Parliament polls. Of the total 10 panchayats,  eight  are  ruled by the LDF. CPM state secretariat member and local leader  T.P Ramakrishnan is the LDF candidate.