Kochi, July 31 (IANS) Barely months after the 2026 Kerala Assembly election delivered one of the state’s most fiercely contested verdicts, the political battle has now shifted from the ballot box to the courtroom.
In a trend that has increasingly become a post-election feature in Kerala, the election of seven newly elected MLAs cutting across party lines has been challenged before the Kerala High Court on allegations ranging from corrupt electoral practices to violations of the Representation of the People Act.
The petitions target leaders from the BJP, the CPI-M, the Congress and an independent backed by the UDF, underscoring that no political formation has been spared judicial scrutiny.
Among those facing election petitions are BJP state President Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP’s V. Muraleedharan, CPI-M MLAs C. Ravindranath and N.K. Akbar, Congress MLAs Rajan J. Pallan and Reji Cheriyan, and independent MLA V. Kunhikrishnan, who contested with UDF backing.
Most of the petitions came up before different Benches of the High Court on Friday.
However, since procedural defects were noticed in several petitions, the court granted time to the petitioners to rectify them before taking up the matters for detailed consideration over the coming weeks.
The most politically significant challenge is against Chandrasekhar’s victory from Nemom, where the BJP leader defeated his CPI-M rival and former minister V. Sivankutty by 4,978 votes.
Congress leader K.S. Sabarinadhan has sought to invalidate the election, alleging corrupt electoral practices.
Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. posted the matter for hearing on August 18.
Justice Rahman is also hearing the petition filed by former Congress MP and MLA T.N. Prathapan against CPI-M MLA C. Ravindranath, who retained the Manalur seat by a razor-thin margin of just 126 votes.
That case too has been posted to August 18.
Another high-profile contest is unfolding over the Kazhakkoottam constituency, where BJP leader Muraleedharan defeated senior CPI-M leader and former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran by just 428 votes.
Surendran has alleged that Muraleedharan resorted to corrupt practices during the campaign and attempted to promote enmity between Hindu and Muslim communities to influence voters.
Justice Harisankar V. Menon has scheduled the matter for August 4.
The same bench also considered a petition by IUML leader Abdul Rasheed C.H. challenging the election of CPI-M’s Akbar from Guruvayur, by 1,998 votes.
The matter is expected to come up in the second week of August.
Separate benches also heard petitions against Congress MLA Pallan, elected from Thrissur, and Cheriyan, who won the Kuttanad constituency.
While the petition against Pallan is pending before Justice Murali Purushothaman, Justice P.V. Balakrishnan has sought Cheriyan’s response to a petition filed by independent candidate Jaisappan Mathai and posted the matter to August 20.
Adding to the growing list is the challenge against independent MLA V. Kunhikrishnan, whose victory in Payyannur ended nearly six decades of uninterrupted CPI-M dominance in the constituency.
Expelled from the CPI-M before the election and backed by the UDF, Kunhikrishnan defeated sitting MLA T.I. Madhusoodanan by 7,487 votes.
Madhusoodanan has now moved the High Court seeking to overturn that result. Justice G. Girish has sought Kunhikrishnan’s response and posted the matter to September 8.
While election petitions are a recognised legal remedy under the Representation of the People Act, the sheer number of challenges filed within weeks of the declaration of results reflects the increasingly litigious nature of electoral politics in Kerala.
Although the filing of an election petition does not affect an MLA’s membership unless the election is ultimately set aside, the proceedings ensure that several of the state’s closely fought Assembly contests will continue to be fought in court long after the campaign ended.
–IANS
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