Kerala Elections 2026: Rajeev Chandrasekhar Wins Nemom Seat In Tight Three-Way Contest

BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar has won Nemom Assembly seat after a closely fought contest. Nemom has been a key constituency for the BJP. His main rival, V. Sivankutty of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), secured 39,147 votes. Congress's K. S. Sabarinathan finished third with 23,099 votes.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the Bharatiya Janata Party has won the Nemom Assembly seat by a margin of about 3,800 votes, after a closely fought contest. Nemom has been a key constituency for the BJP, as it was the first seat from where the party had earlier entered the Kerala Assembly.

His main rival, V. Sivankutty of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), secured 39,147 votes. K. S. Sabarinathan of the Indian National Congress finished third with 23,099 votes.

The contest in Nemom turned into a three-cornered fight between the NDA, LDF and UDF candidates. The constituency includes 23 wards under the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. The BJP entered the race with confidence after performing strongly in these wards during the 2025 local body elections, where it had built a lead of over 6,000 votes.

With the state party president himself in the fray, the BJP maintained an early lead from the start of counting and held on to it till the final result.

BJP credits development pitch on Rajeev Chandrasekhar's early lead in Nemom

The Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party said the early lead of Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Nemom reflects public support for its “development-focused politics.”

Earlier, in a post on X, the party claimed voters rejected both Left and Congress-led fronts and backed a “corruption-free” representative. It added that Nemom is expected to see faster development aligned with the Centre’s growth agenda under Narendra Modi.

Nemom’s political history: A key battleground in Kerala

The Nemom Assembly constituency has seen three elections since its formation, and each contest has been closely watched. V. Sivankutty of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) contested all three elections as the LDF candidate.

In 2011, Sivankutty defeated O. Rajagopal. However, the tables turned in 2016, when Rajagopal made history by becoming the first BJP MLA from Kerala by winning the seat.

2016 election: BJP’s breakthrough win

In the 2016 Assembly election, Rajagopal secured around 47.46% of the vote, while Sivankutty polled about 41.39%. The UDF candidate, from an ally, managed only 9.7% of the votes.

The LDF later argued that the BJP’s victory was made possible because the UDF fielded a weaker candidate instead of a strong Congress nominee. This, they claimed, led to a split in anti-LDF votes and helped the BJP gain a historic win.

2021 election: LDF regains control

In 2021, Sivankutty reclaimed the Nemom seat for the LDF by defeating Kummanam Rajasekharan, who contested for the BJP after Rajagopal stepped aside.

This win was seen as significant, as it ended the BJP’s presence in the Kerala Assembly from Nemom and reversed the gains made in 2016.

Role of UDF and shifting vote share

Political observers have often pointed to the UDF’s strategy as a key factor in Nemom's results over the years. In 2011 and 2016, the seat was given to allies, and the UDF’s vote share remained low at around 17.4% and 9.7% respectively.

However, when the Indian National Congress contested the seat directly in 2021, the UDF’s vote share rose sharply to around 25%, showing stronger voter support.

BJP’s continued focus on Nemom

Nemom has remained a priority seat for the BJP due to its past success and organisational strength. The party built on its performance in local body elections and continued to invest resources and leadership attention in the constituency.

Leaders like Rajeev Chandrasekhar were brought in with the aim of strengthening the party’s position, reflecting its long-term strategy to expand its footprint in Kerala.