<p></p><p>Despite the district’s image as a traditional Left bastion, the UDF washout in all the 11 constituencies here has been a bitter pill that the Congress-led alliance is finding increasingly difficult to swallow. Regarded as the state’s cashew export hub, the district turned out to be a minefield for the UDF as it failed to address the issues encountered by the majority cashew workers. And looking at the end result, it was quite evident that this proved to be the Congress-led alliance’s undoing here. <br></p> <p>Earlier, sharing the UDF’s poll expectations with Express on counting day eve, DCC chief Kodikkunil Suresh hinted that one of the major risks faced by the alliance was the wrath of the cashew workers and added that the LDF had convinced the cashew workers that it was Oommen Chandy Government’s policies which was to blame for the ills plaguing the sector. <br></p> <p>And the election results proved that Kodikkunil was spot on, with the UDF suffering heavy losses in Kollam, Eravipuram and Kundara constituencies, which had a high concentration of cashew workers. In the Kollam seat, Sooraj Ravi(Cong) lost to the CPM’s actor-turned-politico M Mukesh by 17, 611 votes whereas in Eravipuram trade union leader and RSP state secretary A A Aziz lost to M Noushad by a margin of 28, 803 votes. <br></p> <p>In the Kundara seat, the defeat was even more embarrassing as Congress’ firebrand Rajmohan Unnithan lost to trade union leader J Mercy Kutty Amma of the CPM by over 30, 000 votes. According to the local leaders, the alleged corruption in the state-run Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) and the subsequent closure of factories had created a negative impact among the cashew workers. Echoing this, J Mercy Kutty Amma, whose is tipped to get the Labour and Rehabilitation portfolio in Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet, said cashew workers played a key role in ensuring the LDF landslide in the district. <br></p> <p>“Wherever I go, the cashew workers shared their plight as they have no work due to the closure of the factories. “There was a strong sentiment against Oommen Chandy Government and the electorate used the ballot to vent their anger,” she said. <br></p> <p>Probe into KSCDC corruption <br></p> <p>Manoj Kadakampally, who had filed the petition which led to Kerala High Court ordering a CBI probe into the graft claims at KSCDC, concurred with the view that the cashew workers’ wrath had undermined the UDF chances in all the 11 seats. “I believe with the LDF in power, the probe into the KSCDC corruption cases will gather pace. Earlier, the VACB inquiring into the corruption case was behaving as if its hands were tied. The LDF election manifesto vowed to take a tough stance against orruption. Thus I believe that those responsible for siphoning off the funds meant for workers will be punished,” he said.<br></p><p></p>