Heavy polling in Kunnathunadu and Perumbavoor Assembly segments, which are part of the Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency, has left the Twenty20 camp upbeat as it considers the belt as its stronghold.
Kizhakkambalam, Mazhuvannoor, Aikkaranadu and Kunnathunadu panchayats governed by Twenty20 fall within the Kunnathunadu Assembly constituency, which led the charts in terms of voter turnout. Kunnathunadu racked up the biggest voter turnout across all 14 constituencies in Ernakulam district.
Both Kunnathunadu and Perumbavoor Assembly constituencies were the first to cross the 60% voter turnout mark in the district with just two hours left for the polling to conclude. At final count, Kunnathunadu clocked a voter turnout of 78.11% and Perumbavoor 73.13%.
“Heavy polling witnessed in our strongholds of Kunnathunadu, Perumbavoor, and Chalakudy is a clear sign in our favour. In fact, we will amass votes more than the combined vote share of UDF and LDF candidates. All three fronts will drop votes in our favour, and the LDF will suffer the biggest setback. Earlier, people did not have an option and had to alternate between the UDF and the LDF,” said Sabu M. Jacob, Twenty20 chief coordinator.
However, both UDF candidate Benny Behanan and the LDF’s C. Raveendranath would have none of it and dismissed the claim outright. Mr. Behanan said he had been to almost all polling booths in Kunnathunadu and noticed no such trend in favour of Twenty20. Congress activists were the most active in all booths, while Twenty20 activists did not seem quite upbeat.
“In fact, Kunnathunadu has always reported high voter turnout in every election. There was heavy polling in Muslim-dominated pockets, especially by women, which we decipher as anti-Modi. As best placed to defeat Modi, the UDF will benefit from it,” said Mr. Behanan.
Mr. Raveendranath said the LDF had focused on the need to preserve secularism during the two-month-long campaign. “We are confident that the voters are convinced that political parties alone can keep up the fight for secularism, and that the LDF is best suited for that. People realise that at a time when the country is in danger, the political fight for secularism is far more important than freebies,” he said.