India
Kerala assembly elections 2026: CPI(M)'s Sivankutty's bid to retain Nemom seat after 2016 loss to BJP
Vasudevan Sivankutty is a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and currently serves as Kerala’s Minister for General Education and Labour. He represents the Nemom constituency in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, a seat he won in the 2021 elections.
As the sitting MLA, Sivankutty is seeking to retain the Nemom constituency in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, banking on his performance and presence in the region. He will face a strong contest from former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the NDA and K. S. Sabarinadhan of the UDF.
5 Key Facts about V. Sivankutty
- V. Sivankutty was born on 10 November 1954 in Cheruvakkal in Thiruvananthapuram district to M. Vasudevan Pillai, a local activist, and P. Krishnamma. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in History from Sree Narayana College in 1976 and later obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from Kerala Law Academy, Thiruvananthapuram, in 1983.
- He began his electoral journey in local governance, serving as the President of the Ulloor Panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district. This role marked his first direct involvement in grassroots administration and community development.
- Sivankutty first contested from the Nemom constituency as a CPI(M) candidate in the 2016 Kerala Assembly elections. He secured 59,142 votes but lost to BJP’s O. Rajagopal by a margin of 8,671 votes, marking the BJP’s first-ever Assembly win in Kerala.
- He returned to contest from Nemom in the 2021 Assembly elections and won the seat with 55,837 votes, defeating BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan by 3,949 votes, while Congress candidate K. Muraleedharan finished third. His victory helped the Left Democratic Front regain the constituency.
- Nemom has historically witnessed frequent shifts in electoral outcomes, with no candidate securing consecutive terms in recent cycles. In the 2026 Assembly elections, it remains to be seen whether V. Sivankutty can break this pattern and retain the constituency.
