Government and Politics

Kannur
was once the nurturing ground and
think tank of the Communist
movement in Kerala, and was
home of the famous communist
leaders A.K. Gopalan (a.k.a AKG)
and E.K. Nayanar , former Chief
Minister (CM) of Kerala. A former
CM of Kerala, K. Karunakaran also
hails from Kannur. Communist
parties have a strong base in this
district. The Communist Party of
India (Marxist) -led Left Democratic
Front (LDF) governs five of six
municipalities in Kannur district.
Around 70 % of the panchayats are
governed by LDF. Panoor ,
Koothuparambu and
Mattanurareas of Thalassery Taluk
in the District has been a hub of
political violence between the
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
(CPI(M)) and the BJP lead RSS
combine. Clashes in 2008 left
seven people killed and many have
been injured. The High court of
Kerala called this manslaughter as
a “ compelling sport” and
suggested permanent deployment
of Central forces in the affected
areas. [ 2 ]