(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Malappuram: The Muslim League has had a firm grip on the Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency since the creation of Kerala state in 1962. However, there was a brief moment when the CPI was able to capture the seat via E. K. Imbichi Bava. Since 1977, the League has continuously won the constituency, with major leaders such as GM Banatwala and Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait leading the way in previous elections. More recently, personalities like E. Ahamed and E.T. Mohammed Basheer have maintained the League's dominance. MP Abdusammad Samadani is the League candidate in Ponnani this year.
Ponnani has always been a stronghold for the Muslim League, a trend that began even before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. ET Mohammed Basheer's landslide victory in the last election, with a stunning majority of 1,93,273 votes, demonstrated the dominance of the UDF coalition, notably the Muslim League, in the area. Basheer won the 2019 election with 521,824 votes, out of a total of 10,17,366 cast, accounting for 51.30% of the vote. His nearest rival, LDF's PV Anwar, received 3,28,551 votes, while BJP contender VT Rama received 1,10,603 votes. Other contenders in the campaign included advocate KC Naseer, who ran for SDPI and garnered 18,124 votes, and independent candidate PA Sameera received 16,288 votes.
However, ET Mohammad Bashir will not contest the Ponnani constituency in 2024. As the constituency was exchanged with Malappuram, MP Abdusammad Samadani is the Muslim League's candidate in Ponnani. Samadani, who served in the Rajya Sabha from 1994 to 2006, was elected to the Lok Sabha with a 1,14,692 vote majority in the 2021 Malappuram byelection. Meanwhile, the CPM has fielded KS Hamza, the League's former state head, as a general independent candidate in Ponnani. Niveditha Subramaniam is the BJP's candidate for the upcoming election.
Ponnani Lok Sabha Constituency consists of Tirurangadi, Tanur, Tirur, Kottakkal, Tavanur, and Ponnani of Malappuram district and Thrithala assembly in Palakkad district.
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