Low turnout puts parties in a fix in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation

The poor turnout of voters in the elections to the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Tuesday led to intense speculation among the three major political fronts, as it recorded the lowest voter turnout of 58.29% in 15 years in the civic body elections held on Tuesday. In 2020, the turnout was 59.96%, followed by 62.9% in 2015. Even amid the heightened vigil during the COVID-19 period, the city recorded a relatively good turnout of around 60% in 2020. 

A day after the elections, the fronts and parties are apprehensive of the fallout of the low voter turnout on their fortunes, as there was clear disenchantment among voters despite a marginal increase in the absolute number of voters in the city Corporation vis-à-vis the 2020 election. As in the past, the voting percentage as a whole in the district was relatively good at 67.47. The high-decibel campaign unleashed by the three fronts, skipping development issues and the campaign revolving around recent controversies including Sabarimala and the alleged rape case of Rahul Mamkootathil, seems to have played a role in the lower turnout, especially of women voters.

However, the major political parties are hopeful of an impressive performance in the elections, staking claim for the lead player in the elections. The remarks of senior leaders reveal that they are to some extent confused as to how the result would unfold finally. For instance, General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, who had been claiming 75 seats for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the Corporation ahead of the elections, on Wednesday told the media that the LDF would be able to garner around 55-60 seats this time, although the front may lose some sitting seats while making inroads into some new seats. 

He also exuded confidence that the United Democratic Front (UDF), which began an early poll campaign, would be able to retain its previous seat share this time as well. However, the BJP will be the second largest gainer and the Opposition in the Corporation, he said, although he estimates only 15-20 seats for them. On the other hand, K.S. Sabarinathan, the mayoral candidate of the Congress, claimed that his party would garner around 51 seats.

The BJP, which was beset with some internal issues in the beginning, including the death of BJP councillor Anilkumar and an alleged suicide by RSS worker Anand Thampi, is hopeful of making an impressive performance this time. The National Democratic Front (NDA) will bag even up to 50 seats this time, as it has been riding high on the increased vote patronage in the last two local body elections, which saw it increase its vote share from 11.06 per cent in 2010 to 30.46 per cent in 2020, said sources.