Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: LDF, UDF in a tight fight in Kuttiyadi; NDA hoping to make a change

K.P. Kunhammed Kutty is surrounded by a group of youngsters as he comes out of a wedding event at a house near the Kottiyamvelly Temple in Villiappally on a sultry Saturday afternoon (April 4). They want to take a selfie with the Kuttiyadi MLA. He smilingly obliges to their demand.

“I am getting a good response from the people as I am seeking another term in office. Kuttiyadi has seen unprecedented development in the past five years,” Mr. Kunhammed Kutty says as he greets the people who are attending the event.

Parakkal Abdulla, UDF candidate in Kuttiyadi, arriving at Mukkadathum Vayal, to attend a meeting on April 4.
| Photo Credit:
K. Ragesh

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader, who contested as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate, defeated Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) veteran Parakkal Abdulla, the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate and incumbent MLA, by a margin of 333 votes. Mr. Kunhammed Kutty was named the LDF nominee after an internal revolt within the ranks of the CPI(M) as a section of local activists questioned the party’s earlier decision to allot the seat to the Kerala Congress (Mani). This time, Mr. Abdulla is contesting again, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded Ramadas Manaleri of the BJP.

Ramadas Manaleri, NDA candidate in Kuttiyadi, meeting people at a hypermarket in Ayanchery.
| Photo Credit:
K. Ragesh

Mr. Kunhammed Kutty claims that the development projects that he initiated in the constituency will give him a steady lead over his political rivals at the hustings. “All the government schools have new buildings. There are good roads. The Kuttiyadi Taluk Government Hospital, which is visited by patients from at least 10 grama panchayats, is all set to get a new six-storeyed block. Kuttiyadi is famous for its premium, high-yielding variety of coconut. Five acres have been set aside at the Coconut Park for creating value-added products. Tourism, agriculture, and all the sectors have witnessed development,” he points out. Asked about the possibility of an anti-incumbency wave against the State government, Mr. Kunhammed Kutty says the people he came across have no such complaints.

Mr. Abdulla, meanwhile, has a different take on this. Addressing a gathering of UDF supporters at Mukkadathum Vayal near Ayanchery, the IUML leader claims that the voters are all prepared to bring the government down. “Last time, we lost by a thin margin. The UDF workers should make every effort to ensure that all the votes favourable to us are cast properly. We should not be overconfident of a victory. The people of Kerala want a change, and Kuttiyadi needs a UDF MLA to implement development works here,” he says. Before Mr. Abdulla’s speech, local leaders of the Congress and the IUML give speeches detailing the ‘Indira Guarantees’ offered by the UDF in its poll manifesto, while criticising the “misrule” under Pinarayi Vijayan in the past 10 years.

A couple of km away, near his residence at Valliyad, Mr. Manaleri is meeting the local people to reaffirm their support. “Both the LDF and the UDF are talking about development, but have done nothing. The condition of the Coconut Park is pitiable. The government hospital here has no gynaecologist. Outpatient department services stop in the afternoon. We are focussing on the projects implemented by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre,” he says.

With the public campaigning ending in a couple of days and all the major candidates trying to reach out to the maximum number of voters, the electoral outcome in Kuttiyadi could be too close to call.