Thrissur: With three high-profile candidates in the fray, Thrissur is one of the keenly watched constituencies in Kerala.
If the past two Assembly elections are any indication, the LDF has the upper hand as it had emerged victorious in all seven assembly constituencies that make up the Thrissur Parliamentary constituency.
However, the electoral fortunes used to differ in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had its best performance in Thrissur with actor and former Rajya Sabha member Suresh Gopi securing a high percentage of votes in the 2019 election. He secured 28.19 percent which was 17 percent more than the 2014 election. The two consecutive visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasise the importance given by the BJP to Thrissur.
The multi-store Karuvannur Service Cooperative Society Bank loan scam is one of the key campaign issues in the constituency. There has always been a religious subtext to the verdict in Thrissur, which has 35 percent Christian and 16 percent Muslim voters.
From 1952 to 2019, Thrissur stood with the LDF 10 times and the UDF seven times.
The last-minute entry of former Chief Minister K Karunakaran's son K Muraleedharan has transformed the political dynamics in Thrissur. The Congress replaced T N Pratapan with Muraleedharan, a sitting MP from Vadakara. This came against the backdrop of Muraleedhara's sister Padmaja Venugopal migrating to the BJP from the Congress.
The Left party candidate V S Sunil Kumar is a familiar face in the constituency. He had won from Thrissur Assembly constituency in 2026 and from Kaipamangalam in 2011.
Amid the political controversy over the police restrictions in the Thrissur Pooram last week, the LDF alleges rival fronts have attempted to gain mileage out of the issue. Yet, it has to be seen who will reap the poll results.