Kalpetta: The North Wayanad legislative constituency is known for its significant tribal population. The candidate here is minister P.K. Jayalakshmi, the baby of the UDF cabinet.
Among the more than 1 lakh tribal community of Wayanad district, the majority resides in the interior hamlets of this constituency.
A UDF bastion since its inception, the constituency has voted for the Congress except in 1967 when Mr. K.K. Kannan, the tribal leader, won against Mr. C.M. Kullan of the Congress and in 2006 (KC Kunhiraman, CPM) when an anti-Congress wave swept the three constituencies of the agrarian district.
In 2011, the Congress introduced Ms. P.K. Jayalakshmi, a young leader, picked up by Rahul Gandhi. She had wrested the constituency from sitting MLA KC Kunhiraman bagging 62,996 votes and had a victory margin of 12,734 votes.
This time, Ms. Jayalakshmi is reminding voters about the countless developmental activities she has carried out in the constituency. The major success the UDF camp highlights is the expansion of countless roads linking interior hamlets with towns and ensuring connectivity of tourism destinations. Once known as a backward region, in the last five years Ms. Jayalakshmi had unleashed a host of projects in the constituency using her clout as a cabinet minister, cashing in on her proximity with other cabinet ministers. But rather than from the CPM, she faces a threat from her own camp, including a section of Congress leaders.
The CPM is all set to take her on with O.R. Kelu, a member from her own tribal clan, the Kurichia community. Kelu is a well-known tribal leader who ruled the tribal dominated Tirunelli panchayat for many decades. The BJP is a smaller player in the constituency with around 6,000 votes.
