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

Kerala's Kuttiyadi braces for a tight 2026 Assembly election battle between LDF, UDF, and NDA candidates.

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.