Four former legislators, who had made a mark as members of the Assembly, are in the fray in the upcoming local body elections in the State.
The former Congress legislators Anil Akkara, who represented the Wadakkanchery Assembly constituency in Thrissur district in 2016, and K.S. Sabarinadhan, who was elected from the Aruvikkara constituency in Thiruvananthapuram in 2015; Communist Party of India (CPI) leader R. Lathadevi who was the MLA of Chadayamangalam in 1996; and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] veteran K. Rajagopal who won the Aranmula seat in Pathanamthitta in 2006; are seeking popular mandate in local bodies this time.
Mr. Akkara and Mr. Rajagopal are no novices when it comes to local body polls, as they have won the polls earlier and even led their respective local bodies.
Mr. Akkara, who is contesting from the Sanskrit College ward of the Adat grama panchayat, had led the local body for two consecutive terms from 2000 to 2010 as its president. Mr. Akkara, a resident of the ward from which he is contesting, was elected the representative of the ward way back in 2005 and never had to look back. “I yielded to popular demand and decided to return to the local body elections,” he said.
Mr. Rajagopal, who is seeking fresh mandate from the Maramon ward of the Mezhuveli grama panchayat, had served as the vice-president of the local body in 1979 and as its president in 1988.
Called back
Mr. Rajagopal, who retired from active politics on attaining 75 years in December last year, was recalled to electoral politics. It appears that his acceptance among the voters worked in his favour and prompted the CPI (M) to field him as a candidate. “After relinquishing organisational responsibilities, I was concentrating on the trade union sector. The party asked me to contest the election, and I obliged,” said Mr. Rajagopal, who claimed to personally know almost all of the 1,000 voters of the ward, except a few young voters.
In her maiden innings in the local body elections, Ms. Lathadevi is contesting as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate in the Chadayamangalam division of the Kollam district panchayat. To her, contesting from Chadayamangalam is akin to homecoming. “I belong to this place where a large number of my friends, colleagues and family members live. All the grama panchayats in the region fall under the Chadayamangalam constituency which I represented previously. Winning the election means an opportunity to serve the people,” said Ms. Lathadevi. There are around 90,000 voters in the division.
To regain lost ground
Mr. Sabarinadhan is the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate in the Kowdiar ward of the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation. The Congress pins its hopes on him to regain its lost political glory in the city Corporation of the State capital. The former legislator has been pitched as the Mayoral candidate of the party. “I feel I am wired for social service. Hence, contesting from an Assembly seat or the ward of a civic body doesn’t make much of a difference to me,” he said.
Published – November 22, 2025 09:03 am IST