Puthupally to gear up for bypolls in six months; UDF determined to keep its appointment with victory

Kottayam: A byelection to the now-vacant Puthupally Assembly constituency will be held within six months as mandated by the law, following the death of Congress leader Oommen Chandy. The Kerala Assembly secretariat announced on July 19 that the seat has fell vacant. It also notified the Election Commission of India about the vacancy.

This is the second bypoll of the 15th Kerala Assembly. The first was in Thrikkakara, Ernakulam, with the death of Congress leader PT Thomas. He died on December 23, 2021. EC announced the election on May 2, 2022.

Candidate probability

The Congress party had not come up with any other name for the Puthupally constituency since 1970, when Oommen Chandy first contested. Hence, no other names are in the air. However, in 2021, there were reports that Chandy wanted to give way to his son, Chandy Oommen. But his followers protested against such news reports. One even climbed to the roof of his house in an apparent suicide threat. Eventually, he contested again. Chandy Oommen is chairman of the National Outreach Cell of the Indian Youth Congress and a KPCC member. 

It may be noted that Uma Thomas, who was reportedly reluctant to contest from Thrikkakara following the death of her husband Thomas, eventually agreed. She won by a margin of over 25,000 votes from the constituency. The probability of Chandy Oommen contesting the bypoll is very high.

Since Oommen Chandy defeated EM George of CPM in 1970, the party has tried several candidates against the Congress leader. None of them could do the wonder. Out of 12 contests, only three could bring his majority below 10,000 votes. First was George in 1970 (7,288 votes). Then in 1991, present cooperative minister VN Vasavan (9,164) and in the latest contest, DYFI leader Jaick C Thomas (9,044). Jaick contested in 2016 as well (majority- 27,092 votes). Before Jaick, CPM has only once tried the same candidate again, Vasavan (in 1996). 

At present, the best bet for CPM is Jaick. There are talks among party workers that CPM has been preparing Jaick when Oommen Chandy retires. The party hoped Chandy would make his son contest in 2021. CPM is optimistic about Jaick since he could bring down the majority by a huge margin (from 27k to 9k). 

Earlier, LDF had pulled off a fight with Mani C Kappan in the Pala constituency in Kottayam following the death of Kerala Congress strongman KM Mani. Despite UDF fielding the deceased leader’s son Jose K Mani (who is now with LDF), the ruling party succeeded in the UDF stronghold. Kappan had been fighting against Mani for quite some time hoping for a win when the veteran leader retired. It may be noted that Kappan moved to UDF in 2021 and defeated LDF’s Jose K Mani in the same constituency.

Puthupally constituency

It comprises eight grama panchayats. They are: Akalakunnam (LDF ruling), Ayarkunnam (UDF), Kooroppada (LDF), Manarcad (LDF), Meenadam (UDF), Pampady (LDF), Puthuppally (LDF) and Vakathanam (LDF). Some panchayats faced tough fights and ruled with independent candidates' backing.

BJP has less than 10 per cent of votes. The Mani and Joseph factions of the Kerala Congress are influential in some pockets.