‘Sambar front’ proves a point in Kerala civic election

Thiruvananthapuram: When a group of small parties banded together to take on the mainstream parties and leading contenders in Kerala’s Malappuram district, they were disdainfully dubbed the ‘sambar party’. After all, they were attempting to challenge the might of the Indian Union Muslim League which is the recognised leader among parties in the district.

But when the civic election results came on Saturday, it was the mainline parties who were in for a shock as the ‘sambar front’ won in two municipalities and three village panchayats in Malappuram district.

Even the IUML veteran and state industry minister, P.K. Kunhalikutty, had dismissed the coalition of small parties as a ‘sambar front’, the name being derived from a traditional Kerala vegetable gravy dish made with a mix of vegetables.

Kerala’s mainline parties also suffered setbacks in other places from much smaller outfits. Among such giant-killers were the Twenty20 party in Kizhakkambalam, the Pembilai Orumai (Women’s Unity) in Munnar, and the Right Bank Canal party in Palakkad which stood for better drinking water supply, besides the ‘sambar front’ in Malappuram.

In all the five places that the ‘sambar front’ won, it is the IUML-Congress combine that is at the receiving end. It is likely that the ‘sambar front’ will get to rule in the municipalities of Kondotty and Parappanangadi, and the village panchayats of Vazhakkad, Chelambra and Marakkara.

In a few other panchayats, the front failed to get a majority only by a whisker, and will sit in the Opposition.

The ‘sambar front’ was made up with a combination of different parties in various constituencies, depending on the local political situations. In different places they even went by different names.

In Parappanangadi, where the front contested under the banner of the People’s Development Front, the combination won 20 of the 45 seats, emerging the biggest player in the municipality. In Kondotty, where the combination of parties was called the Secular Party, it won 21 of the 40 seats in the municipality. Here, the IUML had to be content with only 18 seats.

The development has also strained the relations between the Congress and the IUML in the district, with the latter feeling it did not get the full support of Congress. In some constituencies, candidates from the ‘sambar front’ were contesting against the IUML with the tacit support of the Congress. These were termed ‘friendly contests’, but the IUML leadership has not been happy about it.