Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: Congress announces second list of 37 candidates

The Congress party on Thursday (March 19, 2026) announced its second list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala, hours after senior leader K. Sudhakaran made it clear that he will abide by the party’s decision.

Among the list of 37 candidates put out by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) are T.O. Mohanan from the Kannur Assembly constituency, which was sought by Mr. Sudhakaran, and Satheesh Kochuparambil from the Konni constituency, which was sought by Adoor Prakash, MP. The AICC stuck to its stand that no sitting MP will be allowed to contest in the Assembly elections in the State.

Significantly, the party has not announced any candidates for the Payyannur, Taliparamba and Ottappalam constituencies, where the United Democratic Front (UDF) is expected to lend support to Communist Party of India (Marxist) dissidents. While in Payyannur, the front will support former Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district committee member V. Kunhikrishnan, in Payyannur, it will support former CPI(M) district secretariat member T.K. Govindan and in Ottappalam, former CPI(M) MLA P.K. Sasi. The party has not announced any candidate for the Ambalappuzha segment as well where it is expected to support former CPI(M) leader G. Sudhakaran.

Thrikkarippur

Sandeep Varier, who quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024, has been fielded from the Thrikkarippur constituency. The Kasaragod District Congress Committee (DCC), which had opposed his candidature, had earlier on Thursday softened its stand following intervention from the party leadership. Abin Varkey has been fielded from the Aranmula constituency, despite local level protests against his candidature.

Soon after the list was announced, incumbent Perumbavoor MLA Eldhose Kunnappilly expressed dissatisfaction as Manoj Moothedan has been fielded from the seat.

Ernakulam DCC president Mohammad Shiyas has been fielded from the Kochi constituency, although Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary Deepthi Mary Varghese had also raised a claim for the seat. Among the other major candidates are M. Liju (Kayamkulam), former Kochi Mayor Tony Chammani (Vypeen), former Speaker N. Sakthan (Neyyattinkara), former Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar (Aruvikkara), former MLA K.S. Sabarinadhan (Nemom) and Saratchandra Prasad (Kazhakuttam).