NEW DELHI: In Kerala’s Thiruvalla, Kerala Congress’ Varghese Mammen received 53224 votes, defeating BJP’s Anoop Antony by 10,146 votes. Anoop Antony got 43,078 votes. There were a total of 197164 registered voters on the electoral rolls for the 2026 Assembly election in Thiruvalla Assembly constituency, of whom 94599 were male, 102565 female and 0 belonged to the third gender.Exit polls released for the high-stakes Kerala battle indicate a competitive contest, with the incumbent LDF government seeking a third consecutive term amid a strong challenge from the UDF.Thiruvalla Assembly constituency is a general seat in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, encompassing Thiruvalla Municipality and rural areas like Muthoor, Kuttapuzha, and Eraviperoor panchayats. It features a significant Christian population influencing its politics. The current MLA is Adv. Mathew T. Thomas from JD(S), elected in 2021. He secured 62,178 votes (44.56 per cent), defeating Kerala Congress’s Kunju Koshy Paul with 50,757 votes (36.37 per cent). This yielded a margin of 11,421 votes, or 8.19 per cent of valid votes, amid 67.91 per cent turnout.Key issues: Residents face erratic water supply and poor sanitation in semi-urban pockets, alongside traffic congestion from burgeoning commercial hubs and festivals. Flooding along the Pamba River disrupts rubber plantations, paddy fields, and spice crops, key to local livelihoods. Youth unemployment persists despite remittances from Gulf migrants, with delays in rural road upgrades and inadequate public transport adding woes. Other concerns include frequent power disruptions during monsoons, illegal waste dumping in water bodies, limited healthcare access beyond basic PHCs, and rising land prices squeezing small farmers. Environmental threats from quarrying and river pollution further strain this agrarian economy. As an LDF-aligned seat with Christian-majority dynamics, it grapples with balancing development and traditional values amid Kerala’s broader civic challenges.
