NASA leader Raila Odinga at a past event. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
NASA leader Raila Odinga will have to act fast and intervene amid increasing dissent in his key Coast region stronghold ahead of the presidential race rematch which is scheduled for October 17.The Coast region has been one of Raila's core support bases in his decades-long political journey.However, his support in the region which has over 1.7 million registered voters has been wavering of late.From battling Jubilee's continued encroachment of the region to appeasing coalition loyalists, Raila should reclaim his support in the region before next month's contest.After garnering over 200,000 votes across the six Coast counties during the August 8 contest, President Uhuru Kenyatta is now keen to double the tally. However, Raila’s grip of the region's politics is under serious threat amid claims by opposition leaders at the Coast that they have been shortchanged in NASA leadership.The leaders' concerns took a new twist early this week after a section of MPs threatened to decamp from the party if they are not given a slot in Parliamentary.On Tuesday, a group of activists in Kilifi, the coalition's key stronghold, said the region overwhelmingly voted for NASA in the August 8 elections but they have been sidelined as none of them has been appointed to parliamentary positions.With Jubilee already strengthened by the entry of Tourism CS Najib Balala into their presidential campaigns, Raila risks limping into the battlefield with divisions that could once again deal a blow to his presidential ambitions.