The electoral setback suffered by the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) [NCP(SP)] and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), both constituents of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), is likely to have serious ramifications for these smaller allies of the coalition.
The NCP(SP)’s failure to open its account, despite contesting three seats, marks a sharp reversal from its performance in 2021. The RJD fared only marginally better, retaining a single seat out of the three it contested.
A comparison with the previous Assembly election underlines the scale of the NCP(SP)’s decline. In 2021, the party had secured two seats, with A.K. Saseendran holding Elathur in Kozhikode and State president Thomas K. Thomas winning Kuttanad in Alappuzha. The inability of both leaders to retain their seats this time indicates not just anti-incumbency but also a possible erosion of the party’s local organisational strength. Further, NCP(SP) nominee K.T. Mujeeb Rahman lost decisively to the IUML’s P.K. Kunhalikutty in the Malappuram segment.
Published – May 04, 2026 09:12 pm IST
