THRISSUR: Once known as ‘Leader’ K Karunakaran’s domain, Thrissur has traditionally been a Congress stronghold. A constituency that sent Therambil Ramakrishnan to the assembly for around 25 years.
Yet, the political scenario in the Thrissur assembly constituency -- which stood with the CPI in the past two terms as an LDF wave swept across the state -- changed with little scope for plain assumption after Suresh Gopi emerged victorious on a BJP ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
In the recent local body elections, the Congress-led UDF gained an upper hand with a thumping victory in Thrissur corporation, with as many as 41 divisions falling within the assembly constituency.
In the last assembly election, CPI’s P Balachandran was elected with a slender margin of 946 votes, ahead of Padmaja Venugopal, who was with the Congress then, and Suresh Gopi.
According to CPI district secretary K G Sivanandan, the state government’s development initiatives give the LDF high expectations in Thrissur.
“During LDF’s door-to-door visits, we have received positive responses from voters. Even in the houses of those who support our opponents, except for some criticism, people are happy. It will reflect in the assembly elections,” Sivanandan told TNIE.
LDF’s primary assessment after the local body polls cited the appointment of an independent candidate as the mayor to hold power in the corporation as the reason behind the front’s poor performance.
“It was a hung council and we had to seek the support of independent candidates. In such a situation, we can do things only after arriving at a consensus, the consequence of which was reflected in the corporation elections. However, LDF’s showing in panchayats is still intact,” the CPI leader pointed out.
On the other hand, the UDF is riding a confidence wave this time as the front enjoyed a lead in around 25 of the 41 corporation divisions.
“People are dissatisfied with the LDF-led state government and also with its performance in the corporation. The assembly election will be an evaluation of the same. We have high hopes in Thrissur constituency and the pulse of the people are positive for UDF,” said Congress’ Thrissur district president Joseph Tajet.
For the BJP, the local body elections did not deliver the expected dividends but the party is still banking on the development plank of the NDA government at the Centre to woo the voters. An election happening after two years of the BJP getting its first Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, winning the Thrissur assembly seat is a matter of prestige.
More so with opponents criticising that Suresh Gopi won not because of political votes but due to a set of reasons including his stardom and irregularities in the voters’ list.
In the 2025 local polls, while the BJP expected to get around 15 divisions, the party could not even touch 10, losing a few to internal conflicts.
“Thrissur is a constituency that has supported BJP well. In 2021, though Suresh Gopi finished third, the vote share increased substantially compared to the previous election. In the Lok Sabha election too our votes rose by 50,000,” BJP state vice-president B Gopalakrishnan said. “This assembly election, we are confident of turning it into a winning seat,” he added.