Kerala Assembly polls 2026: UDF seeks successor to K. Babu as LDF, NDA sharpen contest in Thripunithura

In the Thripunithura Assembly constituency, the United Democratic Front (UDF) is seeking a fitting successor to its six-time legislator K. Babu, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is striving to reclaim what was once its stronghold. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), meanwhile, hopes to ride on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) growing influence in the temple town.

For the first time in 35 years, the constituency will go to the polls without Mr. Babu, who retired from active politics ahead of the election notification. Of the seven elections he contested, Mr. Babu lost only once – to the LDF’s M. Swaraj in 2016 – before wresting the seat right back, albeit with wafer thin margin of 992 votes, five years later.

Sensing an opportunity in this political vacuum, the LDF has fielded its sitting MLA from neighbouring Vypeen, K.N. Unnikrishnan. The UDF has chosen Kochi Deputy Mayor Deepak Joy to sustain its dominance in Tripunithura, which has remained largely unbroken since 1991, barring the brief setback in 2016. Incidentally, Mr. Joy and Mr. Unnikrishnan had faced off in Vypeen in 2021.

The NDA’s move, however, has raised eyebrows as the BJP – having secured a historic win in the Tripunithura municipality in last year’s local body polls – ceded the constituency to its new ally, Twenty20. The corporate-backed outfit has nominated actor Anjali Nair, a familiar face in cinema and television, in a constituency that has witnessed an intense three-cornered political battle since 2016. It remains to be seen whether the party’s core votes will consolidate behind the Twenty20 candidate or drift towards the UDF and LDF contenders.

The BJP first contested Tripunithura in 1987, securing 6.41% of the vote. For the next five elections, its vote share remained below 5%. The tide shifted in 2016 when party candidate and literary figure Thuravoor Viswambharan garnered 19.40% of the vote, amounting to 29,843 ballots. However, in 2021, K.S. Radhakrishnan’s share dipped to 15.30%.

The CPI(M) had enjoyed a stronghold in Tripunithura until Mr. Babu’s entry, winning five of the first seven elections up to 1987. Party stalwart T.K. Ramakrishnan secured four victories, while V. Viswanatha Menon won once. Mr. Babu’s dominance was such that he polled more than 50% of the votes in five of his six victories, recording the constituency’s highest vote share of 55.35% in 2001. His lowest share came in 2021, when it fell to 42.40%, reflecting the narrow margin of his final win. Mr. Swaraj had unsuccessfuly challenged the verdict in court.