Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Alappuzha, Kerala
Lok Sabha Elections 2019 constituency watch of Alappuzha, Kerala.
Alappuzha is one of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies of Kerala.
The nearly 100-km-long constituency, spread across six assembly segments and one in Kollam district, is home to a cross section of fishermen in the state.
Known as Ambalapuzha till 1962, Alappuzha was the cradle of the communist movement in the state and has held a pride of place in state politics since pre Independence.
Known to be the home to many communist leaders, Alappuzha, despite having a strong Left presence, has not voted for it as many times as the party would have liked it to. In the 13 Lok Sabha elections that the constituency has seen, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has been voted in only four times.
This time around, the CPI(M) has fielded AM Arif from the constituency.
Read: All you need to know about Kerala
Congress’s KC Venugopal was elected as the constituency MP both in 2009 and in 2014. In 2014, Venugopal had defeated his closest competitor, CPI(M)’s CB Chandrababu by a margin of 19,400 votes.
Despite its strong presence, the constituency has not been a happy hunting ground for the Left movement in LS polls. In the past 13 general elections, only four times have the LDF won from the constituency.
The general elections will be held across India in seven phases beginning April 11 and the counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Here’s all you need to know about the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency:
State: Kerala
Name of the Lok Sabha constituency: Alappuzha
Date of voting: April 23
2019 candidates: Shanimol Osman (Congress), AM Ariff (CPI-Marxist), Prasanthbhim (BSP), Dr. KS Radhakrishnan (BJP)
Sitting MP, Party: KC Venugopal, Congress
Winning margin in 2014: 19,407
Runner up name, party: CB Chandrababu, CPI(M)
Number of voters in 2014: 998,656
Percentage of votes polled in 2014: 77
Number of polling booths in 2014: 1,130
Number of women voters: 5,19,579
