Nemom Showdown: BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar Takes on LDF's Sivankutty and UDF's Sabarinadhan in Kerala’s High-Stakes Electoral Battle

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the second phase of electioneering underway in the assembly polls, the BJP-led NDA is pulling out all stops to capture the Nemom assembly constituency, one of the top six seats the party sees within its reach in the upcoming Kerala elections.

The BJP has fielded its strongest candidate, state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, against sitting MLA and Education Minister V. Sivankutty. The Congress-led UDF is also taking the contest seriously, nominating K. S. Sabarinadhan, a former MLA from Aruvikkara and currently a councillor in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.

At 61, Rajeev was chosen by the BJP for his impressive performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls—his first contest in Kerala—where he narrowly lost to four-time MP Shashi Tharoor by just 16,077 votes, a significant achievement given that in 2019 veteran leader Kummanam Rajasekharan lost the seat by nearly one lakh votes.

In the parliamentary elections, the BJP led in three of the seven assembly segments: Nemom, Vattiyoorkavu, and Kazhakootam. Nemom saw the party’s highest tally with 61,227 votes. The BJP views Nemom as a strong prospect, recalling its historic 2016 win when O Rajagopal became the first BJP MLA in Kerala by securing 67,813 votes, defeating Sivankutty by 8,671 votes. That victory was partly credited to the UDF’s weak candidate, V Surendran Pillai, who managed only 13,860 votes.

In 2021, the UDF corrected its approach by fielding heavyweight K Muraleedharan, who secured 36,524 votes, with both the LDF and UDF sharing credit for ending BJP’s presence in the assembly.

Political observers say that despite the buzz around Rajeev Chandrasekhar, LDF candidate Sivankutty, 71, still has the charisma to pull off a second consecutive win. He knows the constituency inside out and benefits from a well-oiled party election machinery.

Congress candidate Sabarinadhan, 42, has stepped up his campaign with more house visits. For Congress, matching Muraleedharan’s 2021 performance is crucial to avoid being seen as merely facilitating a BJP win. The big question remains – can he draw in the anti-government vote, particularly from the Hindu majority?

The latest buzz from the constituency is that three candidates have thrown down the gauntlet for a public debate to win over voters. The people might soon get the chance to watch the main contenders trying to charm them with their promises. All in all, Nemom is gearing up for a true battle royale this time.