<p>Thiruvananthapuram: Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate Fathima Thahiliya has emerged as the first woman legislator of the party as she defeated CPM top leader T P Ramakrishnan at CPM stronghold Perambra in Kozhikode.</p><p>Ramakrishnan, who is also <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/elections/kerala/kerala-assembly-elections-2026-verdict-against-ldfs-anti-people-policies-says-congress-as-udf-heads-for-big-win-3990129">Left Democratic Front (LDF) </a>convenor, got defeated by 5,087 votes to the young IUML leader. While Thahiliya secured 81,429 votes, Ramakrishnan got only 76,342 votes.</p><p>The IUML that won 22 seats is the second largest party in the UDF after <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/elections/kerala/kerala-assembly-elections-2026-path-of-fighting-for-democracy-always-long-arduous-congress-on-poll-results-3990506">Congress</a>. </p><p>Thahiliya, who has been a prominent figure in IUML's stirs, is a councilor in the Kozhikode corporation. The 34 year old leader is a lawyer by profession.</p><p>Reacting to the mandate, Thahiliya said she was considering her victory as the victory of the secular mindset of Kerala.</p>.Kerala Assembly Election 2026 Results Highlights | Voters show door to Left rule as UDF sweeps to power; Lotus blooms in 3 seats.<p>The election campaign at Perambra was marked with a row over a communally toned campaign against Thahiliya allegedly by the LDF. Thahiliya's candidature had also not gone down well with many senior woman leaders of IUML.</p><p>Apart from Thahiliya, IUML leader Jayanthi Rajan was the other woman candidate of the party. She contested from Kuthupramba in Kannur, but could finish as runner-up only.</p><p>In the 2021 assembly election IUML fielded a woman candidate in Kozhikode but she also could not win the polls.</p>
<p>Thiruvananthapuram: Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate Fathima Thahiliya has emerged as the first woman legislator of the party as she defeated CPM top leader T P Ramakrishnan at CPM stronghold Perambra in Kozhikode.</p><p>Ramakrishnan, who is also <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/elections/kerala/kerala-assembly-elections-2026-verdict-against-ldfs-anti-people-policies-says-congress-as-udf-heads-for-big-win-3990129">Left Democratic Front (LDF) </a>convenor, got defeated by 5,087 votes to the young IUML leader. While Thahiliya secured 81,429 votes, Ramakrishnan got only 76,342 votes.</p><p>The IUML that won 22 seats is the second largest party in the UDF after <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/elections/kerala/kerala-assembly-elections-2026-path-of-fighting-for-democracy-always-long-arduous-congress-on-poll-results-3990506">Congress</a>. </p><p>Thahiliya, who has been a prominent figure in IUML's stirs, is a councilor in the Kozhikode corporation. The 34 year old leader is a lawyer by profession.</p><p>Reacting to the mandate, Thahiliya said she was considering her victory as the victory of the secular mindset of Kerala.</p>.Kerala Assembly Election 2026 Results Highlights | Voters show door to Left rule as UDF sweeps to power; Lotus blooms in 3 seats.<p>The election campaign at Perambra was marked with a row over a communally toned campaign against Thahiliya allegedly by the LDF. Thahiliya's candidature had also not gone down well with many senior woman leaders of IUML.</p><p>Apart from Thahiliya, IUML leader Jayanthi Rajan was the other woman candidate of the party. She contested from Kuthupramba in Kannur, but could finish as runner-up only.</p><p>In the 2021 assembly election IUML fielded a woman candidate in Kozhikode but she also could not win the polls.</p>