New Delhi, Nov 24 (UNI) Sivaganga MP Karti P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that Congress leader Priyanaka Gandhi should contest the upcoming Kanyakumari Lok Sabha bypoll. Though Ms Gandhi is yet to respond to this unusual request, political observers, maintain that it can start a new political storm.
The Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency seat went vacant after death of Congress MP H Vasanthakumar due to the novel coronavirus. But why Kanyakumari is important ? The answer is the bye-elections on this particular constituency will be held for the first time in 50 years.
“We need a bold move. Something which will fire up the imagination of the Congress worker. Priyanka Gandhi must contest the Kanyakumari Parliamentary seat election which is likely to be announced shortly. It will be an overwhelming victory for her/party/alliance”, Karti said.
The last time the constituency faced a byelection was in January 1969. Kanyakumari, once part of Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala merged with Tamil Nadu on 1st November 1956. Since then the constituency has generally returned candidates belonging to the Congress family of parties or those backed by the Congress.
However, in 1999 and 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Pon Radhakrishnan emerge victorious amid intense multi-cornered contests.
Notably, there is a visible growth for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Thiruvananthapuram–the only district in Kerala where the saffron party stands second position in many of elections consistently.
Besides its importance as a Hindu pilgrim center, Kanyakumari has a sizeable population of minorities.
According to the 2017 district statistical handbook, Hindus account for 51 per cent of the population and Christians, around 44 per cent while Muslims constitute 4.20 per cent.
BJP top brass had earlier observed that the factor of religion was the principal feature of politics in the area.
While Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Wayanad in north Kerala shares its borders with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Kanyakumari constituency in Tamil Nadu borders with south Kerala.
