With the Kerala Assembly polls approaching, the Peravoor constituency in Kannur district has emerged as a high-profile battleground. The contest features a direct showdown between CPI(M)’s K.K. Shailaja and the Congress incumbent, Sunny Joseph.
The CPI(M)’s decision to move former Kerala health minister K.K. Shailaja from her safe haven in Mattanur to the volatile Peravoor constituency has raised eyebrows, especially as most sitting MLAs have retained their seats. This tactical shift fuels ongoing rumours that the party leadership is attempting to sideline her. Given her popularity, many believed she was a natural choice for Chief Minister if the LDF secured a third term; now, her deployment to a high-stakes battleground is interpreted as a hurdle placed in her path to the top office.
While CPI(M) state secretary, M.V. Govindan, defended the party's decision by saying that only she was the LDF candidate who could defeat Sunny in Peravoor. He also added that the party has decided that there is no need to field candidates in a seat they have won for two consecutive terms.
V.K Sanoj is fielded as the LDF candidate in Mattanur.
In Mattanur, a CPI(M) stronghold, Shailaja had won with a record majority of 60,963 votes in the 2021 Assembly election.
Though Shailaja had won from Peravoor in 2006, she had lost to the sitting MLA and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph in 2011. He had been retaining the seat since then.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, Sunny Joseph retained the Peravoor seat with a margin of 3,172 votes, defeating CPI(M)’s K.V. Sakkeer Hussain.
Her current bid to reclaim Peravoor is further complicated by her recent setback in the Lok Sabha elections, where she faced a defeat against Congress's Shafi Parambil. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shafi Parambil defeated Shailaja in the Vadakara constituency with a margin of 1,14,506.
