THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite Nemom’s status as a high-profile assembly constituency that routinely draws national attention, the Congress is yet to find a senior leader willing to enter the fray on party ticket there. Party sources indicate that many senior Congress leaders who are seeking tickets in other constituencies are hesitant to contest from Nemom, reportedly fearing backlash from the RSS.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar who secured over 60,000 votes in Nemom assembly segment during the 2024 LS elections has already declared his candidature from the seat for the forthcoming assembly polls. CPM has zeroed in on General Education Minister V Sivankutty as its candidate.
Nemom was the first assembly seat won by the BJP in 2016, after the opposition UDF fielded a relatively weak candidate from one of its smaller allies. Since then, the constituency has been regarded as a politically sensitive and high-voltage battleground. In the 2021 assembly election, the dynamics were different.
The CPM fielded Sivankutty who had lost in 2016, while the Congress nominated former KPCC president K Muralidharan against BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan. Though the CPM won the election, the 36,524 votes secured by Muralidharan were widely seen as a decisive factor in the outcome.
Congress sources claim that Sangh Parivar has since taken this very seriously and allegedly decided to target Muralidharan, a charge RSS leaders deny.
“Many Sangh Parivar leaders had agreed to us at that time that it was the votes garnered by the UDF which led to the BJP’s defeat in Nemom,” said a KPCC office-bearer. “Being targeted by Sangh Parivar in an election is not a pleasant thing when you need support from all sections,” he said.
There are indications that unless a surprise candidate is fielded, Congress may turn to a local youth leader. However, the CPM which is closely watching the developments, has alleged that the absence of a strong Congress candidate in Nemom would be viewed as an understanding between the UDF and the BJP.