‘Our loss’: Rima Kallingal on K.K. Shailaja’s defeat in Kerala Assembly elections 2026

Actor Rima Kallingal was among many who expressed disappointment over K.K. Shailaja’s defeat in the Peravoor constituency in the recently concluded Kerala Assembly elections.

Taking to her social media handle, Rima shared a poignant image of the former Health Minister standing with a raised, clenched fist. The actor accompanied the post with a succinct four-word message: ‘This is our loss.’

The post quickly became a lightning rod for political discourse. While CPM loyalists echoed Rima’s sentiments, claiming that ‘Kerala has lost,’ the actor also faced a barrage of criticism and trolling from political opponents celebrating the UDF’s triumph.

The architect of Shailaja’s downfall is the KPCC President, Sunny Joseph, who has cemented his reputation as a formidable "giant killer." This victory marks Sunny Joseph’s fourth consecutive term representing Peravoor.

The statistical swing in the constituency is particularly striking:

2011: Sunny Joseph first unseated the then-sitting MLA, K.K. Shailaja.

2021: He maintained the seat with a modest margin of 3,172 votes.

2026: Facing Shailaja once again, Joseph saw his majority rise to a convincing 14,453 votes.

A dramatic reversal

The defeat is a bitter pill for the LDF, especially given Shailaja’s historic performance in the 2021 Assembly elections. In that cycle, she secured the Mattannur seat with a record-breaking majority of over 60,000 votes.

However, the LDF’s decision to field her from Peravoor this time again has clearly not yielded the desired results.