The semi-urban Nemom constituency on the outskirts of Kerala's capital is set for a thrilling three-way contest in the 2026 assembly polls between LDF, NDA and UDF candidates. LDF has fielded incumbent MLA and General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, while BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar will contest for NDA. Congress is yet to announce its candidate.
A decade ago, Nemom, a semi-urban constituency on the margins of Kerala's capital, drew national attention when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won its first assembly seat in the state there. In 2016, O. Rajagopal secured victory for BJP, but in 2021, LDF's V. Sivankutty regained it by 3,949 votes over BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan in a three-cornered fight that also featured Congress's K. Muraleedharan. Sivankutty had defeated Rajagopal in 2011. BJP drew confidence from polling 45.8% votes in the Nemom assembly segment during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where Rajeev Chandrasekhar was the candidate, and winning a majority of wards in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation under Nemom in the 2025 local body polls. Yet, despite 41.4% in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, they lost the subsequent assembly election. Prior to 2008 delimitation, parts of Nemom were in Thiruvananthapuram East. In 1957, CPI's A. Sadasivan won; PSP's P. Vishwambharan in 1960. Left or socialist parties dominated initial polls until Congress's S. Varadarajan Nair won in 1977. UDF and LDF each won twice post-1996, with N. Sakthan in 2001. BJP's growth and Congress weakening led to the 2016 shift. With LDF defending, BJP hopeful and UDF strategising, another close battle looms.
