Kerala has once again elected less than 10% women to its 140-member Assembly, with just 10 women MLAs making it to the 16th Legislative Assembly. In 2021, the state had elected 12 women MLAs to the 15th Assembly, the second-highest since 1996, when 13 women were elected. The number later dropped to 11 following the death of Kanathil Jameela in 2025. Even at its peak, women’s representation in the Assembly has remained below 10%.

In the 2026 election, the UDF fielded 12 women candidates, the LDF 18 and the NDA 16. Of the 11 sitting women MLAs, 10 — K K Shailaja, R Bindu, Veena George, J Chinchurani, U Prathibha, Daleema Jojo, O S Ambika, K Shanthakumari, K K Rema and Uma Thomas — were fielded again, mostly in their sitting constituencies, while CPI’s C K Asha did not seek re-election. Of these, only three have returned to the Assembly this time.

Among the prominent losers are all three women ministers R Bindu, Veena George and J Chinchurani; former health minister and four-time MLA K K Shailaja; IUML leader Jayanthi Rajan; and former IPS officer and BJP’s Thiruvananthapuram councillor R Sreelekha.

Here are the women MLAs of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly and the prominent losers.

THE WINS
Kongad | K A Thulasi

In a surprise victory, Congress’s K A Thulasi defeated CPM’s lawyer-turned-politician and sitting MLA K Shanthakumari by a margin of 3,706 votes. The Congress state general secretary, history professor and wife of two-time Palakkad MP V K Sreekandan, secured a total of 62,734 votes in this Scheduled Caste-reserved seat.

Palakkad’s Kongad is the only constituency in Kerala where all three fronts fielded women candidates. The BJP candidate here was Renu Suresh. The constituency had favoured the CPM since its formation in 2011, with Shanthakumari winning by 27,219 votes in 2021 with a 49% vote share. Kongad, once held by the IUML, was opened up for Thulasi due to Sreekandan’s influence. CPM rebel leader P K Sasi, who enjoys considerable influence in Kongad, was also brought into UDF fold to help Thulasi win.

Thrikkakkara | Uma Thomas
In Thrikkakkara, Congress’s Uma Thomas secured a resounding victory with a margin of 50,211 votes. She polled 83,375 votes. The CPM fielded grassroots leader Adv Pushpa Das. Uma first entered the Assembly through the 2022 bypoll following the death of her husband P T Thomas. Back then, she increased the Congress vote share by nearly 10 percentage points and won by 25,016 votes.

Pushpa Das, a national leader in the CPM’s women’s wing, has held positions in local bodies and the party organisation. The NDA’s Twenty20 fielded reality show star and influencer Akhil Marar, who secured a total of 21,424 votes.

Aroor | Shanimol Osman
In Aroor, senior Congress leader Shanimol Osman has defeated CPM’s sitting MLA Daleema Jojo by 9,324 votes in their second straight face-off. Osman had earlier won the 2019 bypoll, held after A M Ariff moved to the Lok Sabha, defeating CPM candidate Manu C Pulickal.

The constituency was once the political turf of K R Gowri Amma, who won multiple terms before the CPM wrested it in 2006 through Ariff. He held the seat until his shift to the Lok Sabha in 2019. The CPM reclaimed Aroor in 2021, when Daleema defeated Osman, but this time Osman has won it back.

Vadakara | K K Rema
In one of the UDF’s most high-profile contest centres, K K Rema (55) of the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI) won with a lead of 14,862 votes on the death anniversary of her husband T P Chandrasekharan. CPM workers hacked him to death in 2012 after breaking away from the CPM to form RMPI.

Rema lost in 2016 but with UDF backing won the seat in 2021, defeating the LDF by 7,491 votes. The LDF fielded RJD’s M K Bhaskaran (68), while the BJP, with a marginal presence, named K Dileep (50). Two other candidates named Rama were also in the fray, which may have split her vote.

Nattika | Geetha Gopi
CPI’s Geetha Gopi, who represented the constituency from 2011 to 2021, has emerged successful in her comeback bid despite a strong anti-incumbency wave. Congress’s Adv Sunil Laloor came second.

Incumbent MLA C C Mukundan, who quit the CPI and joined the BJP after being denied a ticket, was pushed to third position. Mukundan’s switch had added friction within the CPI. However, the LDF’s organisational strength and past margins favoured Geetha Gopi.

Kollam | Bindhu Krishna
Congress leader Bindhu Krishna secured a historic win in Kollam by defeating CPM’s S Jayamohan, chairperson of the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation and former district secretary, by 16,830 votes.

Krishna increased the UDF’s vote share to 48.9% from 43.3% in 2021. In 2016, it was 35.2%. In 2021, she narrowly lost to actor M Mukesh by 2,072 votes.

In contrast, LDF’s vote share has been dipping in the constituency. From 50.9% in 2011 to 48.8% in 2017 to 44.9% in 2021.

The Left has held the Kollam seat since the 1970s, first through the RSP and later the CPM, with the only exception being in 1991 when RSP-turned-Congress leader Kadavoor Sivadasan won the constituency. Mukesh, now facing allegations of misconduct, was not in the fray.

Attingal | O S Ambika
O S Ambika, who was re-fielded by the CPM in Attingal, has won the seat with a margin of 13,375 votes against BJP’s P Sudheer. In 2021, she defeated Sudheer by 31,636 votes. The RSP, a UDF constituent, fielded Santhosh Bhadran.

Chirayinkeezhu | Ramya Haridas
In a surprise victory, Congress’s Ramya Haridas won with a narrow margin of 1,422 votes. Haridas rose to prominence with her 2019 Lok Sabha win from Alathur but has since faced consecutive defeats.

The CPI fielded Manoj Edamana, while the BJP nominated B S Anoop, a former Congress candidate who switched parties after being denied a ticket. Chirayinkeezhu was a CPI stronghold held by V Sasi for three terms.

Perambra | Fathima Thahiliya
Fathima Thahiliya, IUML’s young and emerging leader, has managed to create a dent in the LDF bastion of Perambra with a lead of over 5,000 votes.

She faced CPM veteran and LDF convener T P Ramakrishnan, who has held the seat since 2016, and BJP’s M Mohanan.

Elathur | Vidya Balakrishnan
Vidya Balakrishnan, a lawyer and former two-time Kozhikode corporation councillor, has secured Elathur for the Congress with a margin of 12,162 votes.

The seat had been held since 2011 by Forest Minister A K Saseendran. However, a split in the NCP complicated the contest. Apart from Vidya Balakrishnan, A K Saseendran of NCP (SP) took on P K Saseendran of NCP, along with BJP’s T Devadas.

BIG LOSSES
Aranmula | Veena George

In Aranmula, Congress’s young leader Abin Varkey Kodiyattu defeated CPM leader and Health Minister Veena George by 18,985 votes. George had retained the seat in 2021 with a margin of over 19,000 votes. The BJP had fielded veteran Kummanam Rajasekharan in the constituency.

George has been on the defensive following recent controversies, while Abin Varkey focused on protest rights and policing issues. In 2021, the CPM held around 46% vote share and the Congress about 35%.

This time, the Congress’s vote share jumped to 44.51% and the CPM’s dropped to 32.45%.

The BJP’s vote share in the segment hovers around 20%, fluctuating with candidate strength.

Peravoor | K K Shailaja
The LDF fielded one of its biggest names K K Shailaja (69) in Peravoor. But the constituency, a long-time Congress stronghold, held firm. Shailaja lost by 14,453 votes to Sunny Joseph, the Congress state president and a three-term MLA.

A CPM central committee member and four-time MLA, Shailaja had suffered only one Assembly defeat before this, that was in 2011 in the same constituency and to Sunny Joseph. The NDA fielded Paily Vathiyattu of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), though the alliance has only a modest presence in the constituency.

Kottarakkara | P Aisha Potty
In Kottarakkara, Finance Minister K N Balagopal secured a narrow victory with a margin of 1,012 votes. Congress had fielded former CPM MLA P Aisha Potty, who joined the party ahead of the polls.

Palakkad | Sobha Surendran
In Palakkad, actor-turned-politician Ramesh Pisharody defeated BJP leader Sobha Surendran by 13,147 votes. Pisharody secured 62,199 votes in the final tally, while Surendran finished second with 49,052 votes. CPM-backed independent NMR Razak came third with 33,931 votes.

Irinjalakuda | R Bindu
Thomas Unniyadan has once again emerged as the Irinjalakuda MLA with a margin of 10,212 votes, defeating Higher Education Minister R Bindu.

She had defeated Unniyadan in 2021 by 5,949 votes. Unniyadan, who was earlier with Kerala Congress (Mani), later joined Kerala Congress (Joseph) and remained with the UDF. The NDA fielded Santhosh Cherakulam, with a vote share of around 22%.

Chadayamangalam | J Chinchurani
CPI minister J Chinchurani, who sought re-election in Chadayamangalam after winning by over 13,000 votes in 2021, lost by 7,486 votes this time.

She was defeated by Congress’s M M Naseer, who faced her for the second time. The BJP fielded R S Arunraj.

Kayamkulam | U Prathibha
In Kayamkulam, CPM’s two-term U Prathibha, who sought re-election, was defeated by Congress’s M Liju by 15,407 votes.

Prathibha had won the seat in 2016 and retained it in 2021, though with a reduced margin. IUML leader Irshad’s misogynistic remarks against her had triggered a major controversy during the campaign. This was Liju’s fourth attempt.

Taliparamba | P K Shyamala
In Taliparamba, a CPM stronghold, rebel leader T K Govindan won with a margin of 12,627 votes. The party had fielded P K Shyamala, wife of CPM’s state secretary M V Govindan, overlooking grassroots and district-level dissent. The move triggered a rebellion, with T K Govindan coming out of the party and contesting as an independent candidate, backed by the UDF. The BJP fielded N Haridas.

Nadapuram | P Vasantham Puthussery
In Nadapuram, Youth Congress leader K M Abhijith defeated CPI’s P Vasantham Puthussery with a margin of 23,600 votes. The seat has remained with the CPI since 1967. The BJP fielded R S Arunraj here.

Adoor | Priji Kannan
CPI candidate Priji Kannan lost to Congress’s C V Santhakumar by 10,332 votes in Adoor. The CPI has held the seat since 2011, though its margin narrowed significantly in 2021.

Kasaragod | M L Ashwini
BJP district president M L Ashwini finished second with 53,698 votes, as IUML’s Kallatra Mahin won by 22,698 votes.

Kuthuparamba | Jayanthi Rajan
IUML’s Jayanthi Rajan lost narrowly by 1,286 votes in Kuthuparamba.

Thrissur | Padmaja Venugopal
Congress’s Rajan J Pallan won by 26,803 votes in Thrissur against BJP’s Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of veteran Congress leader K Karunakaran and sister of K Muraleedharan.

She joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, accusing unnamed Congress leaders of backstabbing her in the 2021 Assembly election, which she had lost narrowly. CPI had fielded Alankode Leelakrishnan here.

Vattiyoorkavu | R Sreelekha
Former DGP R Sreelekha was pushed to third position with 37,038 votes. Congress’s K Muraleedharan defeated CPM’s V K Prasanth by 5,420 votes.

Vypeen | M B Shyni
In Vypeen, a constituency the CPM had held since 2011, the party suffered a surprise defeat as its candidate, M B Shyni (44), lost to Congress leader and former Kochi Municipal Corporation mayor Tony Chammany (56). Chammany secured nearly 50% of the votes polled, while Shyni -- seen as a promising product of the Students' Federation of India and an active face in the constituency -- was restricted to around 38%. The result is a double setback for the CPM. The party had shifted Vypeen’s sitting MLA K N Unnikrishnan to Tripunithura in an attempt to wrest that seat from the Congress. It ended up losing both constituencies. For the NDA, Twenty20 fielded Anitha Thomas (60), a dancer, actor and entrepreneur, who secured around 10% of the vote.