Perambra: UDF's Fathima Thahliya maintains lead after second round in LDF fortress

The UDF’s Fathima Thahliya is leading in Perambra, even as the LDF keeps its hopes high on T P Ramakrishnan to maintain the grip it has had on the segment since 1980.

After the second round was completed, Thahliya had garnered 10,834 votes against Ramakrishnan's 7,152, thus leading the first round by 3,682 votes. The BJP's M Mohanan Master had managed just 1,399 votes in the first round and was in third position.

Perambra had hit the headlines quite early during the high voltage election campaign, with the LDF targeting Fathima Thahliya, using what could be considered a communal weapon. The ruling party had alleged the Indian Union Muslim League, to which Thahliya belonged, was seeking votes by projecting her as ‘Kauminte Kutti’.

The word Kaum in Arabic meant 'people belonging to Islam'. Thahliya, 34, who helped found Haritha, the women’s wing of the MSF, in 2012, had retorted saying she was the ‘UDF’s kutti’. The UDF had also filed a complaint with authorities including the Election Commission against the LDF. ​

With this, Perambra had gone into a fierce battle, with allegations continuing to be traded between LDF candidate T P Ramakrishnan and Thahliya. Ramakrishnan (75), a former Excise and Labour minister, has held the seat since 2016, with the CPM on the other hand, keeping its flag flying high in Perambra since 1980.

In 2021, Ramakrishnan got 52.7 percent of the polled votes, translating into 86,023 votes, while the UDF-backed independent, C.H. Ebrahim Kutty got 63,431 votes, which was 38.8 percent of the vote share. The turnout was 86.63 percent then.

Even as Ramakrishnan and Thahliya battled it out his time, M Mohanan Master of the BJP too tried his luck.

On poll day, the segment recorded a voter turnout of more than 80%. Despite the LDF’s victory margin of 22,592 votes in 2021, the UDF remained confident, with Thahliya claiming that the turnout of more than 80% would work in favour of the UDF.

The UDF, sensing a chance after remaining in the gallery for over 40 years, did not let the steam out even after polling. A few days after the election, it stirred up a controversy by alleging a conspiracy behind the opening of a room at JDT Institute in Vellimadukunnu, where polling-related materials were kept for the Perambra constituency. The Congress also staged a protest and alleged that the room was opened without adhering to proper procedures.