Kerala Assembly polls 2026: With five wins on the trot, Congress pins hopes on Paravur, CPI hopeful of wresting seat

Paravur in Ernakulam district largely remained a safe bet for the Congress. On the election date, the constituency has sided with the party in 10 Assembly elections. The Communist Party of India (CPI), which held Paravur for a long time, had violated the Congress stronghold five times.

It was CPI’s N. Sivan Pillai who won the seat in the first contest in 1957. He won the seat twice more in 1982 and 1987 and then handed over the post to his late son P. Raju, who represented the constituency in 1991 and 1996.

The CPI last won the seat in 1996 when Mr. Raju defeated the then young Congressman and now Leader of Opposition in Kerala, VD Satheesan, by a margin of 1,116 votes. A native of Nettoor in Ernakulam, Mr. Satheesan made Paravur his base and worked hard at the grassroots level to win the hearts of voters.

The efforts paid off, and the Congress regained control over the constituency, trouncing Mr. Raju by a margin of 7,434 votes in the 2001 elections. He hasn’t looked back since, as he held the seat for a record five consecutive times.

rising margin

The Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) attempts to stop the Congress’ winning streak have failed in the last two decades. Mr. Satheesan continued to increase his margin even as the CPI tried to fight the 2011 elections by fielding its leader Pannian Raveendran. He defeated Mr Raveendran by a comfortable margin of 11,349 votes.

The situation was no different in the 2016 elections. Mr. Satheesan defeated Sarada Mohan, daughter of late CPI veteran PK Vasudevan Nair, to secure his fourth win. He returned home with a majority of 20,634 votes, nearly doubling his margin of victory compared to his performance in the 2011 election.

The successive defeats have prompted the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to consider fielding its candidate to end Mr. Satheesan’s victory run. But the CPI leadership refused to back down and fielded the then State committee member MT Nixon against him. Despite the Left wave in 2021, Mr Satheesan retained the seat for the fifth consecutive term with a margin of 21,301 votes.

In local institutions

Its dominance across the constituency was complete as the Congress had a clear margin in eight local bodies, including North Paravur municipality and Chendamangalam, Chittattukara, Ezhikkara, Kottuvally, Puthanvelikkara, Varapuzha and Vadakkekara panchayats.

The performance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) declined in 2021 compared to the 2016 results, with Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) candidate AB Jayaprakarsh coming third with 12,964 votes. In 2016, its candidate Hari Vijayan had received 28,097 votes. The Congress maintained its influence after winning the North Paravur municipality and panchayats other than Vadakkekara in the local body elections held in December 2025.

This time, the contest in Paravur is being watched with excitement from the constituency. Mr Satheesan, a potential Prime Minister candidate after the United Democratic Front won, will enter the fray in the hope of increasing his lead.

Worn out by the ongoing setbacks, the CPI zeroed in on ET Taison, currently the MLA of Kaipamangalam constituency in Thrissur, and fielded Mr. Satheesan this time. Former Congress chief of North Paravur municipality Valsala Prasannakumar, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, is among the NDA candidates.