Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Kerala constituency profile: KC Venugopal set to challenge AM Arif in Alappuzha

In the upcoming Lok Sabha 2024 elections, the Alappuzha constituency in Kerala emerges as a crucial battleground, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) fielding AM Arif and the Congress party nominating KC Venugopal. The BJP has chosen Sobha Surendran as its candidate, despite her previous electoral defeat.

Aishwarya Nair

First Published Mar 26, 2024, 3:26 PM IST | Last Updated Mar 26, 2024, 3:26 PM IST

In the 2019 elections, the United Democratic Front (UDF) secured victory in 19 out of 20 constituencies in Kerala, with A.M. Arif being the sole leftist candidate to win in the Alappuzha district. With Arif's narrow margin of victory, approximately 10,000 votes, the question arises: where will the electoral support sway in Alappuzha this time?

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In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Kerala, while the United Democratic Front (UDF) secured victory in 19 constituencies, the Left Front managed to clinch only Alappuzha. However, Alappuzha saw the narrowest margin of victory in the state. The contest in Alappuzha involved candidates from various parties, including CPM's A.M. Arif, Congress's Shanimol Usman, and BJP's Dr. KS Radhakrishnan. Despite a robust voter turnout of 10,90,112 individuals, A.M. Arif secured 445,981 votes, followed closely by Shanimol Usman with 4,35,496 votes, and Dr. KS Radhakrishnan with 1,87,729 votes. Arif's victory margin was a mere 10,474 votes.

In the upcoming 2024 elections, Alappuzha emerges as a pivotal battleground for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Left Front, being the sole seat won by the Left in Kerala in 2019. Once again, A.M. Arif has been nominated as the candidate for the Communist Party of India (Marxist). On the other hand, the Congress party has fielded KC Venugopal, a former MP of the constituency, in place of Shanimol Usman. Notably, KC Venugopal has a strong electoral history in Alappuzha, having previously won the seat in 2009 and 2014, defeating opponents with significant margins. In 2014, Venugopal defeated CPM's CB Chandrababu by 19,407 votes, while his victory margin in 2009 was a substantial 57,635 votes.

In contrast, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Sobha Surendran, who was unsuccessful in the previous election, as its candidate for the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency.

This constituency comprises the assembly constituencies of Aroor, Cherthala, Alappuzha, Ambalapuzha, Haripad, Kayamkulam, and Karunagappally.

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