Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 | Congress' 'go-to' man K Muraleedharan returns to Vattiyoorkavu

He might lack the charisma of his late father, K Karunakaran, who was a 'leader' in every sense. But there is still an aura around Muraleedharan.

Life has turned one full circle for K Muraleedharan as he is all set to return to State politics with the Congress deciding to field him for the 2026 Assembly polls from Vattiyoorkavu, a seat which he has represented twice.

The 68-year-old, who is a four-time MP and two-time MLA, will figure in a three-cornered contest against incumbent V K Prasanth of the CPI(M) and BJP's R Sreelekha.

For Congress' eternal trouble-shooter Muraleedharan, the contest in Vattiyoorkavu this time owes a lot of significance and is more like a litmus test in his three-and-a-half-decade long political career.

The Vattiyoorkavu Assembly constituency in Kerala came into existence in 2008 following the delimitation of constituencies, replacing the former Thiruvananthapuram North seat. 'Murali' as he is fondly known among his peers in political circles, won the first election for this constituency in 2011 and retained it in 2016 before he was fielded from Vatakara in the 2019 Lok Sabha election where he tamed CPI(M) strongman P Jayarajan.

Muraleedharan's career has been seen a lot of crests and troughs ever since he plunged into electoral politics by defeating CPI(M) stalwart P Imbichibava as a rookie in the 1989 Lok Sabha election from Kozhikode.

Son of 'Bhishmacharya of Kerala politics' and four-time Chief Minister K Karunakaran, Muraleedharan retained Kozhikode seat in 1991, defeating Janata Dal's seasoned campaigner M P Veerendra Kumar.

Then followed a string of lows as he was first defeated from Kozhikode in 1996 Lok Sabha polls and then in Thrissur in 1998.

Muraleedharan returned to the Lower House of Parliament in 1999 from Kozhikode and then became pro-active in State politics, first becoming the general secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee before going on to head it.

2004 was perhaps a watershed moment in his political career as after being inducted into the State Cabinet, he lost byelection from Wadakkanchery — suffering the ignominy of possibly being the only Minister in Kerala's political history to lose a bypoll while being a Minister.

Winds of change followed soon as along with his father, Karunakaran, Muraleedharan left the party and formed a splinter group. But electoral success continued to evade him as consecutive loses followed — first as a Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) candidate from Koduvally Assembly seat in 2006 and then as an NCP nominee from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in 2009.

Though Karunakaran along with many of his followers were taken back to the party, Muraleedharan was kept at bay as the new Congress leadership in Kerala saw him as a potential threat to their career ambitions.

After much cajoling, Muraleedharan was re-admitted to the Congress in 2011 and since then he has turned out to be their 'go-to' man — two classic examples being the 2019 Vatakara Lok Sabha election and the 2021 Nemom Assembly polls.

Whenever there is a tight contest, the Congress banks on Murali to deliver and though it did not work in Nemom, there is an eerie feeling that it might work in Vattiyoorkavu this time.

It's a de ja vu moment for Muraleedharan and nothing epitomises this more than his recent Facebook post where he mentions that "For all those people who mocked me as someone who would end his career as a Minister without being an MLA, it was the 'family members' of Vattiyoorkavu who resurrected me. I'll always be indebted to them. This soil will never ditch me."

It will not an easy ride for Muraleedharan this time. But the very fact that the party has reposed faith on him to wrest the seat back from the CPI(M) is an endorsement of his political acumen.

Muraleedharan, might lack the charisma of his machiavellian father who was a 'leader' in every sense. For that matter, 'celebrated sons' have always carried the excess baggage of their fathers — even E M Sreedharan, the son of legendary CPI(M) leader E M S Namboodiripad, ate the humble pie in two electoral outings.

Muraleedharan has been pilloried by all and sundry for his outspoken nature which includes calling senior Congress leader late Ahmed Patel as 'Aluminium' Patel and for his no-holds-barred criticism of Karunakaran's once-time rival A K Antony.

But there is still an aura surrounding Muraleedharan and Vattiyoorkavu, which presents the right opportunity to redeem his career, especially after his defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Thrissur and also with the Congress being tipped to return to power in the State.