Thrithala was once a CPM bastion, with the party holding the constituency for 20 years before V T Balram wrested it for the Congress in 2011.

Thrithala was once a CPM bastion, with the party holding the constituency for 20 years before V T Balram wrested it for the Congress in 2011.

Thrithala was once a CPM bastion, with the party holding the constituency for 20 years before V T Balram wrested it for the Congress in 2011.

The battle lines are drawn in Thrithala assembly constituency in Palakkad district. A fiery three-cornered poll contest is likely as all the three political fronts have fielded young candidates.

Thrithala was once a CPM bastion, with the party holding the constituency for 20 years before V T Balram wrested it for the Congress in 2011. He repeated the victory in 2016, and is now eyeing a hat-trick.

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A vigorous poll campaign that is expected to spill over to the social media is expected. Balram established his presence in the cyber space very early and occasionally makes significant posts targetting his political opponents. Once the Left Front had boycotted the MLA over a 2018 Facebook post on their past leader AK Gopalan, but it paid dearly soon by losing three panchayats in the local body polls.

CPM, in a bid to recapture the constituency along the banks of the Bharathapuzha, has fielded former MP M B Rajesh who too is savvy with new-age media platforms.

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BJP’s frontline warrior on social media Advocate Shanku T Das is the NDA candidate. He has been leading the party’s presence on TV debates and on social media. He was active during the Sabarimala agitation as well.

Though they belong to opposing political camps, Rajesh and VT, as Balram is popularly known in his constituency, have several similarities. Both took active leadership roles in anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests, and both have almost equal influence among the minority voters.

MB Rajesh
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Balram's work as an MLA has boosted his popularity in the constituency. If a complacent CPM had helped him win the seat in 2011 by a margin of 3,197 votes, he proved his expanding support base in 2016 by increasing his majority by 10,547 votes.

The UDF is confident that Balram’s achievements in the constituency’s development and his popularity may help in retaining the seat.

CPM has fielded Rajesh with the sole intention of recapturing the constituency. Winning back the constituency has now become a prestigious issue for the CPM since Balram is one of the young opposition leaders who has been constantly criticising the Left Democratic government in Kerala.

The party feels that Rajesh’s candidature would spur the fighting spirit of its cadre.

Though the Congress-led United Democratic Front had won some panchayats in the 2020 civic polls, the Left could still boast of having the largest vote share.

BJP, too, has significant influence in the segment. In the civic polls it increased the vote share secured in the previous Assembly poll.