KOZHIKODE: This time the CPM cannot afford to ignore wishes of comrades to vote for the hammer-sickle-star symbol in Kuthuparamba, a constituency where the party struck an emotional chord.
The discussion with Indian National League (INL) on Sunday has settled the issue, exchanging Vallikunnu in Malappuram with Kuthuparamba. The saying goes that Kannur CPM has the ISI mark in the state and within Kannur, Kuthuparamba claims that ISI stamp of staunch loyalty.
According to CPM, Kuthuparamba is the place where five DYFI youth were killed on November 25, 1994, while protesting then minister and party bête noire M.V. Raghavan opening self-financing colleges.
K.K. Rajeevan, Madhu, Shibulal, Babu and Roshan were dead in police firing while Pushpan, who had been severely injured, is a living vegetable for the past 22 years. Since then, Kuthuparamba became a symbol and November 25 the ‘martyr’s day’.
Top leaders like Pinarayi Vijayan and P. Jayarajan were elected from Kuthuparamba with a thumping majority. But in the first election held in 2011 after the delimitation, K.P Mohanan of JD (S) defeated LDF-supported INL candidate S.A. Puthiya Valappil by 3,303 votes.
Beyond the emotional string, reality is that Kuthuparamba is not the same red forte after the delimitation. “It’s not that we don’t know about the new Kuthuparamba. CPM has a special bonding with the place and it is quite natural that we want to vote for our own candidate,” said CPM state committee member M.V. Jayarajan.
He asserts that a CPM candidate could wrest the seat which was lost by a small margin. As of now, P. Hareendran is the CPM’s probable candidate here.
The constituency comprises Kuthuparamba Municipality and Kottayam Malabar, Mokeri and Patyam gram panchayats ruled by LDF and Panoor Municipality, Thripangottur, Kunnothuparamba gram panchayats which are under UDF rule.
Besides, the BJP has a strong presence in the constituency. CPM had been alleging a secret UDF -BJP tie up in Panoor region for many years.
