Kozhikode: Police have increased night patrolling on roads in and around Vadakara Parliament constituency amid reports of unrest ahead of the Lok Sabha election counting day, which falls on May 23. Vehicles check have been intensified and details of passengers are being collected for almost a weak now. The district special branch has already submitted its report to the Rural SP that violence can erupt from any tensed corner.
However, Rural SP U Abdul Karim said that the checks were routine and there was no panicky situation in the area. The areas including Thalassery, Koothuparamba and Onchiyam are under the scanner. Though Thalassery and Koothuparamba are in Kannur district, they come under Vadakara Parliament constituency. The constituency had gained prominence after the LDF fielded CPM's top leader and former Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan.
There was a clamour from the UDF workers for an equally strong candidate to face Jayarajan and finally, the leadership had to pick Vattiyoorkavu MLA and former KPCC president K Muraleedharan, a three-time ex-MP from Kozhikode. The stance of Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI) and M P Veerendrakumar-led Loktantric Janata Dal (LJD) were also crucial in the constituency. When the RMPI, that has nearly 25,000 voters in the constituency, decided not to field candidate and support the UDF, the LJD, with at least 15,000 voters, stood strong with the LDF.
Whether Jayarajan wins or loses, the RMPI workers fear that their party would find it tough. Earlier this week, the police had seized country-made bombs and weapons from Thalassery and Panoor areas. They suspect that the weapons and explosives were made keeping in mind the counting day. CPM rebel C O T Naseer was attacked twice before the election. He is expected to get more than 3,000 votes from the party stronghold.
If there is a fall in the vote share of the NDA candidate as compared to the last Lok Sabha election, it would strengthen the allegations of RSS-BJP vote share moving to Murali and might trigger CPM-BJP fight in the area.
