The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leadership is confident of wresting back the Thiruvambady seat in Kozhikode district and is still kicking its heels against the Congress’ proposal to reshuffle the constituency in the upcoming assembly elections.
While the IUML is optimistic about its own electoral prospects, the Congress is keen to field its own candidate who would better resonate with the influential Christian electorate. The Congress leadership believes its candidate would have a better chance of winning in this segment, citing that both settler farmers in the hill region and the Catholic Church have expressed their preference for the party to contest the seat.
However, IUML Kozhikode area president MA Razak Master dismissed reports of a compromise and claimed that there were no formal discussions on the change of Thiruvambady seat. “The league will retain the constituency and field its own candidate,” Razak told The Hindu.
The main reason for the IUML’s firm stance seems to stem from its assessment of favorable electoral trends in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the three-phase local polls held in December 2025. Of the six grama panchayats, the UDF is in power in five; it has a clear majority in four: Kodencheri, Koodaranji, Puthuppadi and Kodiyathur. LDF is in power only in Karassery grama panchayat and Mukkom village. Besides, the UDF rules the Thiruvambady grama panchayat with the support of a rebel Congress leader who, after winning the seat, is currently its president in a post-verdict deal with the Congress.
The assembly segment also falls under the Wayanad parliamentary constituency, represented by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Interestingly, the CPI(M) won even as its brother Rahul Gandhi secured a landslide victory from Wayanad in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Congress has claimed that there is a possibility of exchanging the Thiruvambady segment. “The UDF aims to win the maximum number of seats. There will be talks with the League in the coming days,” said a senior functionary.
The last time Congress contested the Thiruvambady seat was in 1987 when PP George won the segment. Under a seat-sharing agreement, the IUML has contested the seat since 1991. In the 2011, 2016 and 2021 Assembly primaries, the IUML refused to be awarded the seat despite talks and intervention by the Catholic Church. In 2011, C. Moinutty of the IUML won, but his party lost the next two elections.
Thiruvambady is one of the most hotly contested electoral battlegrounds in the state, defined by a knife-edge rivalry between UDF allies and CPI(M)-led Left parties. In the 2006 polls, the CPI(M) deftly changed the momentum after the party nominated Mathai Chacko and later George M. Thomas through by-elections to win the segment. Although Mr Thomas lost the 2011 parliamentary election, he won the seat back in 2016. Now the CPI(M) is looking to consolidate its influence by fielding incumbent legislator Linto Joseph, who has built a good rapport with the hill farming community and Thamarassery Diocese and also potentially drive a wedge between the UDF.
Published – 17 Jan 2026 20:01 IST
