Line-up, campaign themes hog the limelight

Some of the most intense battles are fought in the southernmost part of the district

Given the line-up in many segments and the way the campaign is shaping up, some of the most intense electoral battles in the Assembly elections are fought in the southernmost part of the district. Nemom and Kazhakuttam remain in the spotlight as the three major fronts are locked in intense contests there. Retaining Nemom, which O. Rajagopal wrested for the party in 2016, is perhaps as important for the BJP as increasing the number of MLAs. The task of retaining the constituency for the party is now on Kummanam Rajasekharan. While the Left Democratic Front is banking on former MLA V. Sivankutty, the United Democratic Front's eleventh-hour decision to field Congress MP K. Muraleedharan has raised the Nemom fight to a high pedestal. The contest for Kazhakuttam, where the LDF triumphed in 2016, is seen as a test of the sharpness of the Sabarimala controversy as a poll weapon when LDF's Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran and BJP State vice president Sobha Surendran face off. The UDF's choice, public health expert S.S. Lal, adds an interesting element to the fight there.