Christians caught in the crossfire

With campaigning set to culminate today, a key question remains: will the Christian vote in Nilambur remain firm with the UDF?

- MANISHA V C S @Malappuram

Ahead of the Nilambur by-election, scheduled for Thursday, political parties are making their final push, with one eye firmly on the Christian vote. Traditionally loyal to the United Democratic Front (UDF), Christians in the constituency are now being courted more aggressively than ever, in what is emerging as a test case for shifting communal and political dynamics in the state.

With close to 40,000 voters, Christians account for nearly 11% of the electorate in Nilambur. They comprise mostly migrant highland farmers and their families—about 14,000 Syro-Malabar Catholics, 9,000 Orthodox Christians, 6,000 Marthomites, 4,000 Malankara Catholics, and smaller groups belonging to Latin Catholic, Jacobite, CSI and Pentecostal churches.