Congress surges ahead in Ettumanoor, Idukki after reclaiming seats from Kerala Congress

Congress candidates have taken commanding leads in Ettumanoor and Idukki, two constituencies the party reclaimed from Kerala Congress as part of its seat-sharing strategy in the 2026 Kerala Assembly election.

The move appears to have paid off, with Congress candidates leading against sitting ministers in both constituencies during the early rounds of counting.

In Ettumanoor, Kottayam DCC president Nattakom Suresh has opened up a lead of over 9,000 votes against Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan, indicating a strong UDF surge in the constituency. Votes from UDF strongholds such as Athirampuzha and Neendoor have already been counted — areas where Vasavan had managed narrow leads in the 2021 election before eventually securing victory. The lead in both these panchayats is decisive in determinig the election outcome in Ettumanoor. 

Meanwhile, in Idukki, Congress candidate Roy K Paulose is leading Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine by 4,063 votes after the first two hours of counting.

Both seats have long been associated with Kerala Congress factions within the UDF. Congress had not contested Ettumanoor for decades, while in Idukki, the party had largely ceded the seat to its ally for years.

In Ettumanoor, Kerala Congress (M)’s Thomas Chazhikkadan had won four consecutive terms until 2006 before the CPM broke through in 2011. Vasavan later consolidated the Left’s hold, winning in 2021 by around 14,000 votes. Congress workers had strongly pushed for the party to contest the seat directly, even staging protests in 2021 against the UDF seat-sharing formula.

In Idukki too, Congress workers had long argued that contesting under the party symbol would improve prospects. The constituency has largely remained with Kerala Congress since 1991, with KCM's Roshy Augustine dominating the seat since 2001.

Early trends now suggest Congress’s gamble to directly contest both constituencies may be paying dividends. With counting still underway, attention will be on whether the party can convert its early advantage into victories in two symbolically significant seats.