Thiruvananthapuram Constituency: A Strong Three-Way Battle

Thiruvananthapuram constituency, the capital city of Kerala, will witness a significant political battle for the upcoming general election in 2024. Many political observers believe that the constituency faces a fierce three-way battle since the three major parties (INC, CPM, and BJP) have placed the best faces in the poll fray. They are Dr.Shashi Tharoor, sitting Congress MP, who belongs to the United Democratic Front (UDF); Pannian Raveendran, former CPI secretary, who belongs to the Left Democratic Front (LDF); and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology of India, who represents the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Thiruvananthapuram is a general category seat, and seven assembly seats fall under the constituency. Though the Congress and the CPI are in alliance as part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), in Kerala, they are contesting against each other.

The sitting MP, Shashi Tharoor, has been serving in the same constituency since 2009. With his ‘Global Citizen’ good will and wide-ranging intellectual fame, there has not been any room for his rivals to take his position after 2009.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Shashi Tharoor won the seat with a margin of 99989 votes and defeated BJP senior leader Kummanam Rajasekharan, who got 316142 votes. The constituency has not given a chance to the BJP so far, as Congress and CPM held the office interchangeably. However, the BJP has emerged runner-up more than once, while the CPM has been relegated to the third position.

As Shashi Tharoor is aiming for a fourth win to wrest the constituency after 15 years, LDF has devoted its hopes to Pannian Raveendran, who had won from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency through a by-election held in 2005. Pannian Raveendran holds a tremendous amount of influence at the grass-roots level of society due to his modest lifestyle and strong connection with them.

And with the BJP fielding Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekharan, the battle became tougher. Minister began his campaign by alleging that the sitting MP didn’t give any consideration to the problems of people in coastal areas, and now he is on the part of redressing their grievance. Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor responded to the BJP’s claim that their candidate has resolved the long-standing woes of local people in Pozhiyoor coastal. He said that he has been raising the same issue in parliament for more than a decade, but the union government did not take it into account. Now, the BJP candidate’s interest in the issue is only for the sake of the upcoming election. Apart from that, another allegation the opposition raised against Rajeev Chandrasekharan is that he didn’t disclose the total wealth he owns on the candidate list.

As per the estimates of the 2011 census, Hindus constitute 66.46% of the total population in Thiruvananthapuram, while Christians and Muslims are 19.1% and 13.72%, respectively.

(This story is part of a Timeline. internship project.)