‘The account I closed in 2021 will remain closed in Nemom’: V Sivankutty ahead of Kerala polls 2026

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Sunday said the “hollowness” of the BJP’s development narrative and what he described as its divisive political agenda would be laid bare in the forthcoming Kerala Assembly elections, asserting that the party’s bid to reclaim the Nemom Assembly constituency would fail.

The senior CPM leader said the BJP’s electoral account in Nemom, which he had closed by defeating the party in the 2021 Assembly polls, would remain shut in the next election as well.

In an interview with PTI, Sivankutty recalled that the BJP had branded Nemom the 'Gujarat of Kerala' ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections. However, he said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had demonstrated in 2021 that Nemom stands for secular values by defeating senior BJP leaders in the constituency.

While acknowledging that the BJP’s victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation elections was a 'warning sign', the minister attributed the result to the consolidation of communal votes and what he termed limited complacency by the LDF in certain wards.

“But an Assembly election is a different ball game. I know the pulse of Nemom. I am with the people there every day. We will expose the hollowness of the BJP's development claims and their divisive agenda. The account I closed in 2021 will remain closed,” Sivankutty said.

His remarks come after the BJP announced that state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar would contest from Nemom, a key constituency in Thiruvananthapuram, where the saffron party is pinning high hopes in the upcoming Kerala Assembly polls.

The BJP had opened its account in the Kerala Assembly in 2016 when party veteran and former Union minister O Rajagopal won the Nemom seat with a margin of 8,671 votes. However, the party lost the constituency in the 2021 elections after its candidate, senior leader and former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan, was defeated by Sivankutty.

Despite the setback, Nemom continues to be one of the constituencies the BJP considers crucial in its electoral strategy.

Outlining the LDF’s roadmap to secure a historic third consecutive term, Sivankutty said the front must return to grassroots politics, with a renewed focus on door-to-door outreach and direct engagement with voters.

He stressed the need to bridge the gap between the government and the public, while also countering what he described as right-wing cyber-propaganda.

The minister dismissed opposition claims that the LDF’s traditional vote base has weakened, rejecting media narratives suggesting a collapse of Left support in the state.

Citing Election Commission data, Sivankutty said the LDF’s vote share remains intact, arguing that comparisons often overlook votes polled by LDF-backed independent candidates. He noted that, in total votes, the LDF had outpolled the BJP-led NDA in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation area.

According to the minister, the state government’s record in welfare schemes and development initiatives, coupled with what he described as stagnation in the BJP’s vote share, has created favourable conditions for the formation of a third consecutive LDF government in Kerala.

His comments come days after the CPI(M)-led LDF suffered a significant setback in the recent Kerala local body elections. The United Democratic Front (UDF) emerged as the biggest gainer, winning four of the state’s six municipal corporations, while the LDF retained Kozhikode and the BJP-led NDA captured the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.

In the district panchayat results, the UDF won seven of the 14 councils, with the LDF securing the remaining seven, underscoring an intensely competitive political landscape ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections.

PTI