Nadapuram: Will UDF crack the Left stronghold?

The electoral battle in the Nadapuram assembly constituency, which is a part of the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, is witnessing a fierce political fight between the CPM-led LDF, Congress-led UDF, and BJP-led NDA.

In this land, which has witnessed the landlord-tenant struggles and the growth of peasant movements, major challenges are being raised this time to the dominance that the Left has maintained for decades. While the constituency is witnessing a high-stakes three-way contest between the the CPM-led LDF ,Congress-led UDF and BJP-led NDA, the main contest is between the LDF and the UDF Nadapuram, a part of Kadathanad which is historically famous for Kalaripayattu, the traditional martial art which local lore describes as a land of legendary “fierce battles” or Angams (formal duels).

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Peace remains a central theme in Nadapuram due to a history of political and communal tension. The region has frequently seen clashes during electioneering, leading to heavy police deployments and the classification of many booths as sensitive. A roadside blast involving a crude explosive occurred near a school bus in January 2026 in Purameri (under the Nadapuram police limits), though no injuries were reported.

While CPI’s P Vasantham is fighting for the LDF, Congress candidate K M Abhijith is in the fray for the UDF , taking up the goal of grabbing the seat from the CPI. BJP’s young face, C P Vipin Chandran, is seeking a mandate for the NDA in the Nadapuram constituency, a highly competitive, frequently volatile, and politically significant seat in the Kozhikode district that has been held by the LDF’s CPI nominee since 1970.

The CPI has won from Nadapuram almost exclusively since 1970, with only two exceptions, demonstrating strong organizational support. While the CPI has maintained its strength, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led UDF candidate Shafi Parambil secured a large lead in the Vadakara Lok Sabha seat, which includes Nadapuram, suggesting a potential challenge to the CPI’s dominance.

CPI candidate P Vasantham is a member of the party’s national council and state president of the Mahila Sangham. She replaced three-term incumbent MLA E K Vijayan. She is wife of former MLA Sathyan Mokeri. Although Vasantham is a good candidate, there is some criticism against her from within the party over the fact that she has been given a seat in the same family under the ‘Thaliparamba model’.

The Congress has fielded a young leader K M Abhijith here. After his good fight in Kozhikode North in the last assembly elections, Abhijith, who has been actively working in Nadapuram for the last four and a half years, is giving great hope to the UDF. In particular, the fact that the wave created by Shafi Parambil in Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency is still there in Nadapuram. The majority of 25,000 votes that Shafi got in the constituency is not insignificant.

The BJP is pinning high hopes on Nadapuram this time. The party has fielded an active young leader, Vipin Chandran, with the aim of significantly increasing its vote share in the constituency. It is expecting to repeat the success it gained in this area in the local body elections.

Vipin Chandran is considered one of the strong faces of the BJP in the Kozhikode district. He has served as a member of the party’s state committee and former state general secretary of the Yuva Morcha, and has come to prominence through his organizational activities.

Considering the history of the last three elections, it is clear that victories in Nadapuram were with small majorities. In 2011, CPI leader E K Vijayan had won a majority of over 7,500 votes when he contested for the first time. However, in 2016 and 2021, this majority has shrunk to 4000 and 4500, respectively.

Although incumbent E K Vijayan is a ‘silent’ leader in the constituency with no personal grievances against him, it is pointed out that he has not been able to grow into a leader with significant influence in state politics. The Left centers are concerned that Nadapuram will become an epicenter where anti-incumbency sentiment is likely to flare up the most in the Kozhikode district.

While the UDF is confident of wresting the seat from the LDF, the LDF leaders say that the front will retain the seat with a big margin.