The Revolutionary Socialist Party’s (RSP) resurgence in Kollam represents a dramatic reconfiguration of the district’s political map. Securing a clean sweep of all its contested seats in the district, the party has staged a spectacular comeback by re-establishing itself as a dominant force in its traditional heartland. RSP, which had been pushed to the fringes of the State legislature with zero representation for the last decade, reclaimed its historical bastions in Chavara, Kunnathur, and Eravipuram. This victory is being viewed as the centrepiece of a broader United Democratic Front (UDF) surge that dismantled long-standing Left Democratic Front (LDF) strongholds across the district. While Shibu Baby John and Ullas Kovoor leveraged their deep-rooted leadership and seniority to secure victories in Chavara and Kunnathur, the real headline emerged from Eravipuram. There, newcomer Vishnu Mohan defied the odds, turning a perceived surprise into a decisive win. Mr Mohan defeated sitting MLA and senior CPI(M) leader M. Naushad by a margin of 8,803 votes. This victory was particularly unexpected given Mr. Naushad’s previous 28,000-vote victory margin and the presence of a BDJS candidate who was expected to split the anti-LDF vote. Mr Mohan’s success is being hailed as a generational shift within the party, proving that the RSP can successfully pitch new faces against veteran Marxist machinery. In Chavara, RSP State Secretary Shibu Baby John secured a deeply personal and political redemption. After two consecutive and stinging defeats in 2016 and 2021, he reclaimed his family’s legacy by defeating sitting MLA Sujith Vijayan Pillai with a commanding margin of 18,573 votes. For Mr. John, whose political future was inextricably tied to this result, the win serves as a mandate for his leadership and restores his status as a titan of Kollam politics. Similarly, in Kunnathur, Ullas Kovoor emerged victorious in an intense ideological battle, defeating sitting MLA Kovoor Kunjumon of the RSP (Leninist) by 25,314 votes, settling a long-standing feud with the splinter group. This electoral triumph marks the end of a dark era for the RSP, which had struggled to find its footing ever since its dramatic exit from the LDF in 2014. While the party’s Lok Sabha representative N.K. Premachandran had maintained a grip on the parliamentary seat, that popularity had famously failed to translate into Assembly wins until now. The current sweep suggests that the party has finally managed to bridge that gap, successfully channeling the UDF’s grassroots momentum, first seen in the local body elections, into a decisive legislative presence.

Published - May 04, 2026 06:39 pm IST