UDF's Francis George Banks On Agriculture And Anti-Incumbency Against Sitting MP From Kottayam

Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has fielded Kerala Congress (Joseph)”s K. Francis George from the Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency. A former Member of Parliament, the 68-year-old LLB graduate possesses over six crore assets as per his last affidavit.

LDF has fielded the sitting MP and Kerala Congress (Mani)”s Thomas Chazhikadan who won the 2019 general election as a UDF candidate. Interestingly, Thomas Chazhikadan defeated the CPM”s VN Vasavan with more than one lakh majority during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Kerala Congress M joined the left front after its rift with the Congress-led UDF leadership. As the LDF candidate and a nominee of the Kerala Congress (Mani), the sitting MP is vying for another term from the seat.

Both Congress and the CMP have strong vote banks in the constituency, giving room for fierce fight in the constituency. renewed for the rubber plantations, the campaign here is incomplete without addressing the rubber concerns.

The opposition UDF has not left the stones unturned to criticise the ruling LDF government for the declining price of rubber. The UDF hence eye on the anti-incumbency to garner support among the electorates. The Congress candidate has been highlighting the issues to agriculture and rubber in his election campaigns.

The BJP-led NDA has fielded Thushar Vellapally, the president of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) from the Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency. As a constituency with a predominantly Christian and Hindu population, Thushar Vellappally is banking on the minority Christian votes.

However, the battle between the KCM and KCJ candidates allied with LDF and UDF respectively is anticipated to pose tough competition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.