The Nemom assembly seat in Thiruvananthapuram may witness one of the star-studded battles in the upcoming assembly elections, with three fronts set to field star candidates for the seat.
While only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s candidature is certain now, having decided to field its state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar to wrest the back of the seat from the Left Democratic Front, the Congress seems to have some surprising plans for the constituency this time.
The LDF won the seat in the 2021 assembly elections by fielding V. Sivankutty after losing the seat to the BJP in 2016.
According to Congress sources, the party is planning to field MP Shashi Tharoor in Nemom. Mr Tharoor’s candidature is favored by the Congress high command over the state unit, with the United Democratic Front (UDF) seeking a return to power after 10 years. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is also in favor of Mr. Tharoor’s position from Nemom. Besides, Mr Tharoor’s candidature is expected to boost the UDF’s prospects in Kerala, sources said.
The IUML has also been a major player in trying to bring the Kerala Congress (M) back into the UDF fold, though that attempt has not materialized so far.
In the case of the LDF, the party is pinning its hopes on Mr. Sivankutty to retain the seat. However, the final picture will be clear only after a few weeks.
In the 2021 assembly elections, Mr. Sivankutty wrested the seat from the BJP with a margin of 3,949 votes by defeating Kummanam Rajasekharan. However, the BJP has been the dominant player in the Assembly segment since 2016, barring a defeat in 2021.
The BJP maintained its dominance in the seat in the 2016 assembly elections, the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the recently concluded local body elections. The party could win 17 out of 25 constituencies in the Nemom Assembly segment in the local body elections, while the LDF could win only five seats.
Published – 16 Jan 2026 21:08 IST
