Thiruvananthapuram’s Vattiyurkavu assembly constituency is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched battlegrounds in the upcoming elections, with all three major political fronts gearing up for a high-stakes contest. The constituency’s unpredictable voting behavior added to the excitement and encouraged fronts to consider fielding prominent candidates.
Key areas of today’s Vattiyurkavu constituency were part of the erstwhile Trivandrum-II Assembly constituency from 1957 to 1977 and later the Trivandrum North constituency until the 2011 assembly elections. The region has a notable political history, having twice elected former Chief Minister Pattom Thana Pillai to the state legislature in 1957 and 1960.
In 2008 delimitation
Vattiyurkavu constituency was carved out of Trivandrum North during delimitation in 2008 by comprising several wards of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation as well as parts of Kazhakuttam, Vattiyurkavu and Kudappanakunnu grama panchayats.
For several years after its inception, Vattiyurkavu was widely considered a safe seat for the Congress. Congress leader K. Muraleedharan won the constituency twice, in 2011 and 2016.
In the 2011 assembly elections, Mr Muraleedharan defeated Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate Cherian Philip by a margin of 16,167 votes. He retained the seat in 2016, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan by 7,622 votes, while CPI (M) candidate TN Seema finished third.
Toehold for CPI(M)
The political equation changed in 2019 when Mr. Muraleedharan contested the Vadakara Lok Sabha seat, triggering a by-election in Vattiyurkavu. In this contest, CPI(M) candidate VK Prasanth won the seat for LDF with a margin of 14,465 votes over United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate K. Mohankumar.
Mr. Prasanth further consolidated his position in the 2021 assembly elections by retaining the seat with a margin of 21,515 votes. He defeated BJP candidate VV Rajesh, who is currently the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, while Congress candidate Veena S. Nair finished third. The LDF is expected to renominate Mr. Prasanth as it seeks to retain control of the constituency. Determined to regain lost ground, the Congress leadership is considering fielding Mr. Muraleedharan.
BJP confident
The BJP, meanwhile, has all but finalized former Director General of Police R. Sreelekha, currently a member of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Council, as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate.
The coalition enters the race with optimism, citing encouraging performances in the Lok Sabha and the recent local body elections. She strongly believes that the political mood in the constituency is favorable for a breakthrough, citing a lead of 8,162 votes and 2,497 votes she secured in the assembly segment in the respective polls.
Vattiyurkavu has a sizeable Hindu voter base with the Nair community being the largest segment. The Ezhava and Dalit communities also have significant representation, while Christian and Muslim voters together make up roughly one-quarter of the electorate. The constituency has 1,63,063 registered voters, including 77,550 males, 85,510 females and three transgender voters.
In the previous election, there were 2,08,543 voters out of which 1,37,636 cast their vote. However, after the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the number of voters fell by more than 45,000.
Info:
Election 2026:
Men: 77,550
Female: 85,510
Transgender: 3
Total: 1,63,063
Votes Polled by Major Candidates in Vattiyurkavu Assembly Segment in 2024 General Election:
Rajeev Chandrasekhar (BJP): 53,025 (secured a margin of 8,162 votes)
Shashi Tharoor (Congress): 44,863
Pannian Raveendran (CPI): 28,336
Votes polled by the main candidates in the 2021 council elections:
VK Prasanth (CPI(M)): 61,111 (won by a margin of 21,515 votes)
VV Rajesh (BJP): 39,596
Veena S. Nair (Congress): 35,455
Total Votes: 1,37,636
Votes received by the main candidates in the 2019 council elections:
VK Prasanth (CPI(M)): 54,830 (won by a margin of 14,465 votes)
K. Mohankumar (Congress): 40,365
S. Suresh (BJP): 27,453
Total Votes Polled: 1,23,090
Published – March 30, 2026 12:14 PM IST
