Kerala Assembly Polls: Vattiyoorkavu set for high-stakes battle as BJP take on UDF-LDF challenge in stronghold

Currently represented by Left Democratic Front's (LDF) VK Prasanth, Vattiyoorkavu is one of the four legislative constituencies which are a part of Thiruvananthapuram city. Often considered a "swing" seat in Keralam politics, Vattiyoorkavu has not seen a single party dominance since its creation in 2008.

The urban constituency is set for a face-off between Prashanth and former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief K Muraleedharan, who is the son of the late former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress stalwart K Karunakaran. He is a two-time MLA from here. The NDA also has high prospects of winning the seat, with the party betting on R Sreelekha, a retired officer of the Indian Police Service.

K Muraleedharan has already represented the seat twice in 2011 and 2016; It was later won by the Left Democratic Front in the 2019 bye election and back in the 2021 state polls. Muraleedharan contested in the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Thrissur and lost.

Speaking with ANI, earlier this week, Muraleedharan said he shares a strong bond with the people of his constituency, emphasising his regular visits to the area while highlighting the development projects completed during his tenure.

"Two days in a week, I visited here. People know me, and I know the people. There is a relationship between me and the people of Vattiyoorkavu. Many developments were completed during my period, and now we are showing the achievements we have done," he said. The former MLA said that if voted to power he will revive the medical college during the previous UDF government but stalled by CM Pinarayi Vijayan.

NDA candidate Sreelekha, the first woman IPS officer as well as the first woman Director General of Police from Keralam, incidentally, she lost out on the Thiruvananthapuram mayor post despite winning the Sasthamangalam ward in the city corporation elections in December 2025. On the other hand, VV Rajesh, who is the current mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, ended up securing the second position in the 2021 assembly elections against LDF's VK Prasanth.

In an interview with ANI, Sreelekha vowed to make the Vattiyoorkavu Assembly constituency greener, more eco-friendly and more traffic-friendly. Emphasising that the population of senior citizens is comparatively more than that of youth, she outlined her plan to create a skill hub in the city to create more opportunities for the youth.

While the BJP was able to increase its vote share within the Thiruvananthapuram region during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, its recent success in the local body polls also gives the party a very high chance of winning the seat.

Meanwhile, the LDF candidate Prashanth told ANI that he is confident of securing a significant majority in the elections. Noting that the front identifies BJP and UDF as its primary opponents, Prashanth emphasized that the people will "vote for development" and the party will fulfill the promise of substantial developmental progress if elected. He expressed optimisim of winning with "over 20,000 votes."

In 2021, the Vattiyoorkavu constituency consisted of a total of 1,95,974 electors including 93,690 male voters and 1,02,284 females. The LDF's V.K.Prasanth ended up securing 61,111 out of the total votes polled, winning by a margin of 21,515 votes against BJP's VV Rajesh, who received 39,596 votes.

In the 2019 bye elections, LDF candidate Prasanth won the constituency for the first time by a margin of 14,465 votes, securing 54,830 votes against UDF's K Mohankumar, who ended up achieving 40,365 votes.

Polling for the 2026 Keralam Legislative Assembly elections will be held on April 9, with counting scheduled for May 4. The tenure of the current Assembly ends on May 23.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is seeking to unseat the incumbent CPI(M)-led LDF government in the 140-member Assembly. The LDF has been in power in the state for around a decade. (ANI)