How by-election results would realign power equations in Thiruvananthapuram district

In the by-elections to five local body seats in Thiruvananthapuram district, the LDF not just retained its sitting seat (Ottoor ward in Varkala Block Panchayat) but also managed to wrest two from the Congress (Anchuthengu ward in Chirayinkeezh Block Panchayat and Mundakkal ward in Mangalapuram grama Panchayat).

The Congress, however, retained the Kallara ward in Thiruvananthapuram District Panchayat that was vacated by Sudheersha Palode when he became Vamanapuram MLA. Pazhayakada ward in Thirupuram Grama Panchayat also stood by the Congress, though the majority slipped to 169 from 307 votes.

Ramya effect
Significantly, desertions have hurt only the UDF.
The by-election to the Anchuthengu ward in Chirayinkeezh Block Panchayat was necessitated by the rebellion of B S Anoop, the local Congress biggie who had wrested the ward from the CPM in the 2025 local body polls.

Anoop defected to the BJP on the eve of the 2026 Assembly polls in protest against the party's decision to field Ramya Haridas from Chirayinkeezh. Anoop was the Congress's Chirayinkeezh candidate in 2021. In 2026, he was the BJP's Chirayinkeezh candidate.

In a pro-UDF wave that saw the CPI votes crash by nearly 6 per cent, Anoop was in no position to thwart Ramya's victory. However, even local Congress leaders Onmanorama talked to said that Ramya's "disgusting behaviour" with the local Congress workers had reflected in the verdict.

A video clip showing Ramya in a scrap with local Congress workers who had questioned the "excessive importance" given to her close associate Palayam Pradeep in local matters had gone viral. "Congress leaders in the area just went through the motions of a campaign. They were not keen on a victory," a local Congress leader said.

As it turned out, Bijumol S of the CPM defeated her Congress rival Shabitha Biju by a margin of 359 votes. In 2025, Anoop had captured this traditional CPM ward with a margin of 599 votes.

Job exchange
Like Anchuthengu ward, Mundakkal in Mangalapuram Grama Panchayat also falls within the limits of the Chirayinkeezh Assembly.

Here too, the LDF regained the ward from the UDF. CPI's Ramya V Thulasi defeated Congress's Ajantha Shiji by 139 votes. In 2025, Congress's Kavitha S R defeated CPI Ganga Ani by 206 votes.

The bypoll was foisted on Mundakkal because Kavitha secured a government job right after the polls and resigned her membership.

Kavitha is worried by the loss, but she had opted for the stability of her family over an elected post. "I would not have quit had it not been a permanent job," Kavitha told Onmanorama. She was appointed in the sweeper post at Vamanapuram Panchayat through the Employment Exchange on the basis of seniority.

During the campaign, there were reports of public resentment over prolonged power restrictions in the area. "The behaviour of Remya would have acted like an extra shock," a Congress panchayat member said.

President dreams
In 2025, there was a tie in Mangalapuram. The LDF and the NDA had seven members each in a 22-member panchayat. The UDF had six, and there were two independents. The simple majority mark is 12.

The CPM rules the panchayat with the help of an Independent and the silent support of the UDF. For stability, the CPM had made Sreechand S, the Independent who won the Murukkumpuzha ward, the panchayat president.

With this win, the LDF has become stronger. The chances of the CPM moving to claim the president's post have grown. The UDF, whose strength has shrunk to five, is expected to support a move to remove Sreechand from the top post as he is a Congress rebel.

Twice lucky
Chirayinkeezh Block Panchayat, where the CPM had wrested a Congress seat, could also witness a minor but crucial change in the power equation.

Chirayinkeezh Block has a total of 14 wards. The majority is 8. Congress had 7, the LDF 4 and the BJP 3 seats. The numbers after the bypoll: UDF - 6; LDF - 5; and the BJP - 3.

This Block Panchayat has a unique power structure. The UDF has a majority, but it is a CPM member, Geetha Suresh, who is the Block Panchayat president. Since the top post was reserved for a Scheduled Caste woman member, the UDF had no choice but to yield the post to the CPM. None of the UDF winners in the ward was an SC woman.

The by-election gave the CPM an additional seat in the panchayat; its strength up to five from four. After the president's post had gone to it by default, the CPM could now rightly claim the coveted Development Standing Committee chairperson's post, too.

As it stands, the three-member Development Standing Committee is chaired by the Congress. It had CPM and Congress representatives as its members. The Congress member was B S Anoop. In Anoop's place comes CPM's Bijimol S. Thus, the CPM has a majority in the standing council. The party is expected to ask for the chairperson's post.

When loss becomes a gain
If B S Anoop's defection seems to have troubled the Congress, Smitha Sundareshan's shift to the BJP has left the CPM untouched.

It was Smitha's defection to the BJP (she was fielded as the BJP's Varkala candidate in the 2026 Assembly polls) that necessitated the bypolls in Ottoor ward under the Varkala Block Panchayat.

Varkala block has a total of 14 wards. The majority is 8. The UDF has 3, the LDF 9 and the BJP 2. The CPM dominance is left undisturbed.

Ottoor was retained by the LDF with a larger majority. CPM's P Beena defeated her BJP rival R Shaila by 925 votes. The Congress candidate Reeja secured 1198 votes. In 2025, Smitha's lead over her BJP rival Sheela S was only 614 votes.