Don't write off Congress in Nemom; All eyes on Kerala's most fierce triangular battle

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nemom will witness arguably the strongest triangular contest in Kerala this election. The intensity of the election was reflected in the campaign and cyberspace. The main fight in the constituency is between the BJP and the CPM. However, since 2021, Congress has shown signs of revival. Although not yet in contention for the big fight, Congress cannot be written off in the constituency.

Minister V Sivankutty is in the fray to retain the sitting seat of the CPM. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who announced his candidacy months ago, is fighting to regain the constituency that gifted BJP its first-ever MLA in Kerala. Young leader and former Aruvikkara MLA KS Sabarinathan is in the fray for the Congress.

In 2016, BJP’s O Rajagopal defeated Sivankutty here by a margin of over 8000 votes. In 2021, when BJP was hopeful of yet another win, Congress leader K Muraleedharan entered the fray. Murali's vote count increased to 36524, leading to a surprise BJP defeat.

Voters in the constituency are very impressed with V Sivankutty's performance as the Education Minister. Voters also have no objection to the development works implemented in Nemom. However, BJP and Congress have made the issue of gold looting in Sabarimala a major campaign issue. The anti-government votes and the messy handling of Sabarimala issue may come back to haunt Sivankutty. Since the BJP has a chance of winning, the minority community's votes will be concentrated towards the Left Front.

When it comes to Rajeev Chandrashekhar, voters say that the constituency has the strongest organisational structure for the BJP. The fact that the BJP councillors are in the majority in the corporation wards of the constituency is also in Rajeev's favour.

The staunch Congress supporters are expecting a Congress wave in the state and Nemom to follow suit. However, some share the opinion that there is no chance Sabari winning the constituency, not even ending in the second spot. The delay in announcing the candidate was also a setback. However, the votes that Sabarinathan gets will be crucial in deciding who wins in Nemom. If Sabarinathan manages more than 35,000 votes, Sivankutty will likely emerge as the winner yet again.