Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 | More celebrities in fray; Mammootty's blessings for Ramesh Pisharody

As the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced the remaining few candidates for the Assembly elections in Kerala, two more actors have entered the fray.

While Actor Sudheer Karamana has been fielded as LDF backed independent candidate in Thiruvananthapuram constituency, television actor and anchor Vivek Gopan is fielded as NDA candidate at Aruvikkara on the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram.

Sudheer, who is the son of late actor Karamana Janardhanan Nair, made a surprise entry as sitting MLA Antony Raju of LDF coalition partner Janadhipatya Kerala Congress got disqualified as he was recently convicted in a case pertaining to tampering with the evidence in a narcotics case and his party could not present an effective alternative. Sudheer was an activist of CPM's student wing Students Federation of India during his college days and is still a left supporter. Hence the LDF decided to field him.

He will be taking on United Democratic Front candidate C P John of the Communist Marxist Party, which is party of disgruntled CPM leaders activist formed by former minister M V Raghavan in 1986, as well as BJP Thiruvananthapuram city district president Karamana Jayan, who is a prominent leaders of the city.

For Vivek Gopan, who is a familiar face in television shows and serials, it is the second electoral contest. He contested as BJP candidate at Chavara in Kollam in 2021 assembly election, but finished only in third place.

Already many other actors are in the fray, including Ramesh Pisharody as UDF candidate at Palakkad and Anjali Nair as NDA-Twenty20 candidate in Thripunithura. Actors Veena Nair and Lakshmi Priya who were fielded by Twenty20 had to withdraw from the fray as their names were not present in the electoral rolls

While actor-turned politician and transport minister K B Ganesh Kumar is again contesting from his sitting seat Pathanapuram as LDF candidate, another actor-turned politician and CPM MLA of Kollam M Mukesh is not contesting this time. He was facing sexual assault cases from women in the film industry.

Mammootty's blessings for Ramesh Pisharody

Congress candidate at Palakkad Ramesh Pisharody received a video call from ace actor Mammootty on Saturday, just ahead of filing nomination.

Mammootty wished Pisharody good luck, which the UDF camps are highlighting. Palakkad is witnessing a strong triangular fight.

Recently Mammootty invited the wrath of CPM supporters after he asked a CPM local leader of Wayanad to keep distance from him and also hailed the recently inaugurated township for landslide survivors at Wayanad as a people's project.

CPM camps, which were highlighting the Wayanad township as a major achievement of the Pinarayi Vijayan government, were irked over Mammooty's remarks as well as gestures towards the CPM local leaders.

What followed was a barrage of cyber attacks against Mammootty by CPM activists. Subsequently Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had even tendered an open apology to the ace actor.