The electoral fortunes of the Angamaly Assembly segment in Ernakulam have shifted between the key fronts, though the United Democratic Front (UDF) enjoyed an edge over the Left Democratic Front (LDF) over the past five-and-a-half decades.
The constituency had offered multiple chances to candidates of both fronts in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. A.P. Kurien of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] started the trend after he remained unbeaten for four consecutive terms since 1967. Considered as the northern gateway to Kochi, Angamaly became a municipality in 1978 and was accorded the status of an Assembly constituency in 1965.
M.V. Mani of the Kerala Congress bucked Kurien’s winning streak by defeating him in 1982. He went on to serve the constituency for two consecutive terms, before facing defeat in 1991. P.J. Joy of the Congress won the seat by 7,598 votes after Mani left the Kerala Congress (Mani) group to join hands with P.J. Joseph, who was then an LDF ally.
Mr. Joy made Angamaly a safe bet for the Congress after he represented it for three consecutive terms till 2001. His hopes of making it a record fourth time were dashed by Jose Thettayil of the Janata Dal (S) in 2006. Mr. Thettayil served two consecutive terms before losing out a chance to contest again in 2016 after getting involved in an alleged scandal.
The Congress re-worked its strategy and decided to field a young face to take on the Left front. The mantle fell on Roji M. John, who was then the national president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). In a keenly-fought contest, he defeated Benny Moonjely of the Janata Dal(S) by 9,184 votes. Despite the Left wave in 2021, the electorate in Angamaly stood with the Congress as Mr. John defeated Mr. Thettayil by a margin of 15, 929 votes.
The Congress had no other choice but to field Mr. John to take the battle forward this time and retain the party’s sway over the constituency. The UDF camp is banking on the electoral outcome in the local body elections in December 2025 when it won Angamaly municipality and seven of the eight panchayats including Kalady, Karukutty, Malayatoor-Neeleswaram, Manjapra, Mukkannoor, Parakadavu, and Thuravoor.
By fielding three-time Perumbavoor MLA Saju Paul, the CPI(M) has signalled its wish to put up a keen fight. The lacklustre performance in the 2021 polls has prompted the Bharatiya Janata Party to hand over the seat to Twenty20, its new ally. Promy Kuriakose, television personality, is the National Democratic Alliance candidate.
Published – March 18, 2026 08:51 pm IST
