Ramesh Chennithala Files Nomination in Haripad, Seeks Blessings for Kerala Polls

Prior to submitting his nomination, Chennithala offered prayers at local temples and paid floral tributes at his mother's grave, seeking blessings for the upcoming polls.

Chennithala reached the Haripad Revenue Tower in a grand procession, accompanied by hundreds of party workers, supporters, and local leaders. After the ceremonial procession, he submitted his nomination papers before the Assistant Returning Officer, completing the formalities to contest from Haripad.

The Congress on Thursday released its second list of 37 candidates for the April 9 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections.

As per the released list, TO Mohanan is contesting from Kannur, Senapathy Venu from Udumbanchola, and Santhakumar from the Adoor (SC) seat. While Sandeep Varier is contesting from Trikaripur, M Liju is running from Kayamkulam, and Abin Varkey from Aranmula.

In its first list, the party had announced 55 candidates, including Kerala Congress Committee President Sunny Joseph from the Peravoor seat. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan has been fielded from Paravur, while Muraleedharan, former MP and son of veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister K. Karunakaran, is contesting from the Vattiyoorkavu seat.

The 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 9, the Election Commission of India announced on March 15, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 4. The tenure of the current assembly is scheduled to end on May 23.

The Model Code of Conduct comes into place, setting in process elections to the 140-member State Assembly, which is also known as the Kerala Niyamasabha.

Both the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led UDF seek to unseat the incumbent Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF and gain control of the 140-member assembly. The LDF-led government has governed the state for around a decade.

In the Kerala Legislative Assembly election, held in a single phase on April 6, 2021, with results being declared on May 2, 2021. The incumbent LDF retained power with 99 seats, marking the first time since 1977 that a ruling alliance secured consecutive terms in the state. The UDF won 41 seats, while the NDA saw a decline in vote share and lost its only seat in the Assembly. Following the victory, Pinarayi Vijayan became the first Chief Minister of Kerala to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term in office.

In terms of vote share, the LDF received 41.5 per cent of the total votes, significantly ahead of the UDF, which secured 38.4 per cent. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), secured 11.4 per cent of the votes but failed to win a single seat in the election.

Among individual parties in 2021, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) emerged as the single largest party with 62 seats and a vote share of 25.5 per cent. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 21 seats with a comparable vote share of 25.2 per cent, while the Communist Party of India (CPI) secured 17 seats. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key UDF ally, won 15 seats.

- ANI