‘Nemom is BJP’s gateway to Kerala’: What we know about the contest and why it is being touted as the ‘Gujarat of Kerala’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Nemom is BJP’s gateway to Kerala’: What we know about the contest and why it is being touted as the ‘Gujarat of Kerala’")
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP State President and candidate from Nemom Photograph: (X)
Nemom, a strategic suburban constituency, is the BJP's "gateway to Kerala." Despite 2021 losses, strong local and parliamentary leads have led the party to label it the "Gujarat of Kerala."
The suburban constituency of Nemom, on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, has once again emerged as a focal point of national political attention as Kerala heads towards the 2026 Assembly elections. Described by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its “gateway to Kerala”, Nemom is being closely watched for signals of a potential political shift in a state traditionally dominated by the Left and the Congress-led fronts.
Nemom’s political prominence predates the BJP’s rise in the state. Historians note that the constituency has long been considered prestigious, owing to both its geography and cultural legacy. It historically connected the former royal capital of Padmanabhapuram with modern-day Thiruvananthapuram following the reorganisation of states in 1956.
Culturally, Nemom also played a role in Kerala’s cinematic history, hosting Merryland Studio, one of the early pillars of the Malayalam film industry.
Electorally, the constituency has seen shifting allegiances over decades. The undivided Communist Party of India won here in 1957, during Kerala’s first elected government, but the seat subsequently oscillated between Left parties and the Congress or its allies. Prominent leaders such as P Vishwambaran and S Varadarajan Nair used Nemom as a launchpad for their political careers.
BJP’s breakthrough and the ‘gateway’ tag
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The BJP remained a marginal player in Nemom until the early 2000s, when its vote share began to rise. The turning point came in 2016, when O Rajagopal secured a historic victory, becoming the BJP’s first-ever MLA in Kerala. The win was symbolically significant enough for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party’s national leadership to describe Nemom as its entry point into the state.
However, the BJP’s hold proved fragile. In 2021, V Sivankutty of the CPI(M) reclaimed the seat for the Left Democratic Front (LDF), defeating BJP candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan, while Congress leader K Muraleedharan finished third.
Why Nemom matters now
Despite the BJP losing the seat in 2021, recent electoral trends suggest it continues to be a stronghold for the party within Kerala. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Rajeev Chandrasekhar secured a lead of over 22,000 votes in the Nemom segment, despite narrowly losing the Thiruvananthapuram seat to Shashi Tharoor.
Earlier, in 2019, the BJP had also led in the segment when Kummanam Rajasekharan contested the parliamentary polls. The party further consolidated its position in the 2025 local body elections, winning 18 out of 24 wards in the constituency. These consistent performances have led party leaders to draw parallels between Nemom and Gujarat, suggesting it could serve as a springboard for a broader expansion in Kerala.
The ‘Gujarat of Kerala’?
The phrase “Gujarat of Kerala” reflects the BJP’s ambition to replicate in Nemom what Gujarat has historically been for the party, a stronghold that anchors wider political expansion. While the comparison remains aspirational, Nemom’s evolving electoral patterns suggest it is one of the few constituencies in Kerala where the BJP has managed to establish a sustained presence.
