Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 19 (PTI) V Muraleedharan, former Minister of State for External Affairs and a senior BJP leader, had been focusing on the Kazhakkoottam constituency–an urban seat in Thiruvananthapuram with a strong presence of IT companies–even before the dates for the Kerala Assembly polls were announced.
Having remained active in Kazhakkoottam with the aim of contesting the seat after putting up a tough fight in the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 elections, Muraleedharan eventually received the green signal from the party’s central leadership to enter the fray.
What may have attracted Muraleedharan to the Kazhakkoottam seat, currently held by CPI(M) leader and former state minister Kadakampally Surendran, is its high vote share–ranking among the top three Assembly segments in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency–where BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar secured over 40 per cent of the vote in the parliamentary polls.
Additionally, BJP leader Sobha Surendran of the NDA finished second in Kazhakkoottam in 2021, securing just over 40 per cent of the vote, further consolidating the party’s base in the constituency.
However, Muraleedharan faces the daunting task of unseating the sitting MLA, Surendran, who has represented Kazhakkoottam in the Kerala Assembly three times–first in 1996, and then in 2016 and 2021.
He lost once, in 2006, to M A Vaheed of the Indian National Congress.
Kadakampally’s popularity and familiarity with the constituency make him a formidable opponent.
The BJP appears well aware of this, with its leaders targeting the CPI(M) leader over the Sabarimala gold theft case, in which the Special Investigation Team (SIT) recorded his statement as he was the former Devaswom Minister.
“Kadakampally has some guilt in this issue, and that is why he went to the SIT office discreetly, without informing anyone,” Muraleedharan told PTI Videos.
The senior BJP leader also cited lack of job opportunities and a severe drinking water shortage as major issues in the constituency, alleging that the MLA and the ruling dispensation had failed to address them over the past decade.
Surendran, however, dismissed the allegations, saying the people of the constituency were well aware of his work.
“People here in my constituency know what I have done for Sabarimala and that I have nothing to do with what has happened there. This is what the BJP does regularly, as it has no real issues to take up,” he said.
Addressing the drinking water issue, the sitting MLA said that the 8.5-kilometre-long pipeline project would be completed soon, which would resolve the problem in many areas of the constituency.
“We could have completed it earlier, but when Covid struck, the manufacturing of iron pipes stalled, preventing us from procuring the required quantity. The cost also increased considerably,” Surendran said.
The MLA said the issue stemmed largely from old earthen pipes laid decades ago, which frequently burst under pressure, necessitating a complete overhaul of the pipeline network.
Muraleedharan, meanwhile, emphasised a shift in public sentiment, claiming that people were dissatisfied with the government and the sitting MLA.
“Now people want change. They consider the BJP a winnable force and are ready to vote for it,” he said.
The former union minister added that this sentiment was reflected in the 2024 parliamentary elections as well as in the recently concluded local body polls.
“We made significant progress in the elections, and this will continue in the Assembly polls,” Muraleedharan said.
The UDF, meanwhile, is attempting to revive its 2006 performance in the constituency through Adv T Saratchandra Prasad.
Although the AICC has not officially announced its candidate for the seat in its first list, Prasad–who held a roadshow in Kazhakkoottam on Wednesday–said party leaders had asked him to begin campaigning.
“My senior leaders have asked me to start campaigning as time is limited. I began my political career in this constituency as a KSU activist while studying here, so the people know me well,” Prasad said.
Prasad, who represented the Attingal constituency in 1991 and later lost from Vamanapuram in 2016, expressed confidence of victory in what he described as a tight three-cornered contest.
“I have been working in this constituency all my life, and the people know me well. I also hope I know each one of them,” he said.
He also raised concerns over what he described as the sitting MLA’s lack of attention to the constituency, as well as the difficulties faced by residents due to an acute LPG shortage, which he attributed to the NDA government’s handling of the issue.
“Our fight is against the unholy nexus between the Left and the BJP. This is a fight against the failed governance of both the LDF and the NDA,” he said.
Surendran secured 46.04 per cent of the vote in the 2021 elections, winning by a margin of over 23,000 votes.
Muraleedharan had earlier lost to him in 2016 by more than 7,000 votes. The CPI(M) leader significantly increased his vote share from 37.38 per cent in 2016 to 2021.
The Congress vote share in Kazhakkoottam–a constituency that once elected party stalwart A K Antony to the Assembly–has been declining in recent elections.
The Congress has won Kazhakkoottam five times, and once through its ally CMP in the UDF, when M V Raghavan was elected to the Assembly. PTI KPK TGB ROH
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