Kerala Assembly Polls 2026 | No women, no vote: movement calls for NOTA revolt

In a sharp political intervention ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections, Thulya Prathinidhya Prasthanam, a collective fighting for equal political rights for women, has called for a Statewide protest vote, urging voters to support women candidates where they are fielded and opt for NOTA (None of the Above) in constituencies where none are in the fray.

Positioning the move as a “democratic resistance,” the women-led collective said its repeated demand for 33% representation was ignored by both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), leaving it with no option but to escalate the issue into an electoral protest. The group also made it clear that its appeal does not extend to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA women) candidates.

The Women’s Reservation Bill, first introduced in Parliament in 1996, was finally passed in 2023 after 27 years and multiple hurdles. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has effectively delayed its implementation by linking it to conditions such as a fresh census and constituency delimitation, according to the movement. Hence voters should not to support NDA candidates, it said.

“This is not patriarchy, this is democracy,” said chairperson of the movement Kusumam Joseph. “If there are women candidates, vote for them. If not, vote NOTA as a mark of protest.”

Repeated appeals

“Despite repeated appeals, including a memorandum signed by one lakh people, both fronts chose to ignore us. Even after we announced the NOTA protest, not a single leader reached out for a discussion. Yet, the same leaders rush for talks when any religious group calls for a boycott. That speaks volumes,” she said.

The numbers, executive member K. M. Rema said, expose the scale of exclusion. Out of the 140 constituencies, the LDF has fielded only 18 women and the UDF just 12. “Women form more than half the population, yet even one-third representation has been denied. This shows the value political parties place on women,” she said.

Ms. Rema pointed out that the outcome would remain skewed even in the best-case scenario. “Even if all women candidates win, the Assembly will have barely 27 women members. That is nowhere near meaningful representation,” she said.

The collective noted that Kerala, despite its social development claims, has never had a woman Chief Minister. Meanwhile, many other States, including neighbouring Tamil Nadu, had more than one woman Chief Minister.

Calling on voters to use NOTA as a legitimate democratic tool, the movement said the right, granted by the Supreme Court, must be used to send a strong political signal. “When parties deny the right to contest, voters must respond by asserting their right to reject,” it said.

The collective also condemned derogatory remarks against a woman candidate in Kayamkulam, demanding strict legal action. “The tendency to insult women entering public life is deeply condemnable. The number of women contesting in the Assembly elections is already very low. In such a situation, strong legal action is essential to prevent attempts to push them back through sexual and personal attacks,” said M. Sulfath, convener of the movement.

With its “vote women or vote NOTA” call, the movement has thrown a direct challenge to mainstream politics, turning women’s representation into a central and unavoidable election issue.