LS poll victory: Kodikunnil Suresh clinches record for most MP terms from Kerala

Kodikunnil Suresh has made history by becoming an MP for a record eighth time in Kerala, securing a fourth consecutive victory from the Mavelikkara constituency. His enduring popularity among the people has been a decisive factor in his continued success.

Suresh now holds the record for the most MP terms from Kerala, surpassing G.M. Banatwala, who was elected seven times from Ponnani, and K.P. Unnikrishnan, who was elected six times from Vadakara.

Mavelikkara has traditionally been a stronghold for the United Democratic Front (UDF) since its formation in 1962, up until the 2019 elections. Even when the constituency aligned with the Left, the UDF managed to reclaim it in subsequent elections. When Adoor, a regular reserved constituency in Central Travancore, was restructured and ceased to exist in 2009, its reservation status was transferred to Mavelikkara. Adoor became a general seat, and Kodikunnil Suresh, then the sitting MP from Adoor, contested from Mavelikkara in the 2009 elections. Pathanamthitta also became a reserved constituency. Since then, Mavelikkara has known no other representative than Kodikunnil. With today's victory, Kodikunnil has secured eight wins in Parliament, combining his terms from both Adoor and Mavelikkara.

Kodikunnil's political journey began in student politics while he was studying law at the Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram. As the state vice president of the Kerala Students Union (KSU), he received his first candidate ticket. In 1989, at the age of 27, he contested from Adoor and defeated CPI's N. Rajan by a margin of 21,542 votes, becoming a parliamentarian. In the 1991 election, he faced CPI's Bhargavi Thankappan and won again, though with a reduced majority of 18,595 votes.

In the 1996 elections, he completed a hat-trick by defeating CPI's P.K. Raghavan by 65,545 votes. However, in the 1998 election, he lost to CPI newcomer Chengara Surendran by 17,005 votes. Kodikunnil avenged this defeat in the election held a year later, winning by a margin of 22,006 votes. Nonetheless, in 2004, he lost again to Chengara Surendran by 54,534 votes. When the Adoor constituency was dissolved in 2009, he moved to Mavelikkara, where he faced P.K. Raghavan's son R.S. Anil and NDA's P.M. Velayudhan, winning by a majority of 48,048 votes, securing his position in the 15th Lok Sabha.

In 2014, his main opponent in Mavelikkara was Chengara Surendran, who had unseated him in Adoor. Another contender was the then Youth Morcha state president P. Sudheer from NDA. Despite attempts to corner Kodikunnil using the failed Kuttanad package and the solar scam controversy, he retained the UDF seat with a majority of 32,737 votes.

In the 2019 elections, CPI fielded Chittayam Gopakumar, the sitting MLA from Adoor, and BDJS's Thazhava Sahadevan as the NDA candidate. Gopakumar garnered 376,497 votes, and Thazhava Sahadevan got 132,323 votes, but Kodikunnil won with a majority of 61,500 votes, securing a hat-trick victory with 437,997 votes.

In the 2024 elections, determined to reclaim Mavelikkara, CPI fielded newcomer C.A. Arun Kumar, while NDA nominated Baiju Kalasala, a former Congress member who joined BDJS. However, neither Arun Kumar nor Baiju Kalasala could withstand Kodikunnil's influence in Mavelikkara, as the election results clearly indicate.

Notably, the significant majority that the UDF gained in the 2019 wave could not be replicated by Kodikunnil this time. Despite a strong challenge from CPI's C.A. Arun Kumar, Kodikunnil's political acumen and experience played a crucial role in maintaining his position, even amidst adverse sentiments in the constituency.