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The Indian National Congress (INC), on Tuesday, March 17, announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections. The party has fielded several important names, including the leader of the Opposition, VD Satheesan, senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, and KPCC President Sunny Joseph, among others. The initial list includes 55 candidates, of whom eight are women.
While VD Satheesan will contest from Paravur, Ramesh Chennithala will contest from Haripad, and Sunny Joseph from Peravoor.
Aisha Potty, who switched to the Congress recently after three decades with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], will be the candidate from the Kottakkara constituency. Aisha Potty was the MLA from Kottarakkara for the past three consecutive terms.
Congress has chosen actor and director Ramesh Pisharody as their candidate in the Palakkad constituency. Palakkad has historically been a strong seat for the UDF. In the 2024 bye-election, Rahul Mamkoottathil was elected as MLA after Shafi Parambil won the Lok Sabha seat. However, in August 2025, the Congress party expelled Rahul due to multiple allegations of sexual abuse and forced abortion against him.
In the Malampuzha constituency, the party is fielding A Suresh, former personal assistant to Communist veteran Achuthanandan and an expelled CPI(M) member. Achuthanandan represented this constituency for nearly two decades. Suresh officially joined the Congress on March 17, the same day Congress announced its first list of candidates.
K Muraleedharan will contest from Vattiyoorkavu, and Oommen Chandy’s son, Chandy Oommen, will contest from Puthupally.
Meanwhile, the decisions are pending for Kannur and Konni seats, where MPs K Sudhakaran and Adoor Prakash, respectively, have raised claims. However, Congress has taken a stand against fielding MPs for the Assembly election.
The delay in announcing candidates has drawn significant criticism against the Congress, with accusations that the party is unable to make timely decisions. Earlier, VD Satheesan had told the media that the candidate list would be released within 24 hours of the Election Commission announcing the poll dates, but that did not happen. The Election Commission announced the elections on March 15.
Constituency and Candidate list
Kannur
Irikkur — Adv. Sajeev Joseph
Dharmadam — Abdul Rasheed
Thalassery — KP Saju
Peravoor — Adv. Sunny Joseph
Wayanad
Mananthavady — Usha Vijayan
Sulthanbathery — C. Balakrishnan
Kalpetta — Adv. T Siddique
Nadapuram — KM Abhijith
Quilandy — Adv. K Praveen Kumar
Balusseri — VT Sooraj
Elathur — Vidhya Balakrishnan
Kozhikode North — Adv. K Jayanth
Malappuram
Nilambur — Aryadan Shoukath
Wandoor — AP Anil Kumar
Thavanur — V S Joy
Ponnani — Noushad Ali
Palakkad
Thrithala — VT Balram
Kongad — KA Tulsi
Malampuzha — A Suresh
Palakkad — Ramesh Pisharody
Tarur — KC Subramanian
Chittur — Adv. Sumesh Achuthan
Nemmara —T Thankappan
Alathur — KN Febin
Thrissur
Manalur — TN Prathapan
Ollur — Adv. Shaji J Kodankandath
Thrissur — Rajan J Pallan
Nattika — Adv. Sunil Laloor
Kaipamangalam — TM Nazar
Puthukkad — KM Babu Raj
Chalakudy — Saneesh Kumar Joseph
Kodungallur — OJ Janeesh
Ernakulam
Angamaly — Roji M John
Aluva — Anwar Sadath
Paravur — VD Satheesan
Ernakulam — TJ Vinod
Thrikkakara — Uma Thomas
Kunnathunad — VP Sajeendran
Muvattupuzha — Dr. Mathew Kuzhalnadan
Kottayam
Vaikom — K Binimon
Kottayam — Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan
Puthuppally — Chandy Oommen
Alappuzha
Aroor — Shanimol Usman
Cherthala — KR Rajendra Prasad
Haripad — Ramesh Chennithala
Mavelikkara — Adv. Muthara Raj
Kollam
Karunagapally — CR Mahesh
Kottarakkara — Adv. P Aisha Potty
Pathanapuram — Jyothikumar Chamakkala
Kundara — PC Vishnunadh
Kollam — Adv. Bindhu Krishna
Chathannoor — Sooraj Ravi
Thiruvananthapuram
Chirayinkeezhu — Ramya Haridas
Vattiyoorkavu — K Muraleedharan
Kovalam — M Vincent