The Dharmadam Assembly constituency in Kannur is set for a high-profile contest as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) takes on VP Abdul Rasheed of the Indian National Congress and K Ranjith of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Considered a stronghold of the Left, Dharmadam remains a crucial seat where the BJP is looking to make inroads, while the Congress aims to put up a stronger challenge against the incumbent Chief Minister.
Key candidates
Dharmadam Assembly Constituency has witnessed keen political contests over the years, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being the major contenders. The key candidates for the Dharmadam seat are CPM candidate and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Congress leader Abdul Rasheed, and BJP's K Ranjith, among others.
Dharmadom Assembly constituency
The Dharmadam Assembly constituency is one of the 140 constituencies in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. It is constituency number 12 of the Kerala Legislative Assembly. The constituency is a general seat not reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The LDF, UDF, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress are the main parties in the state.
Dharmadam is a key legislative assembly constituency in Kerala that comes under the Kannur district. Dharmadom Assembly constituency comes under Kannur Lok Sabha constituency.
Dharmadam Constituency Demographic Profile
As per data from the Election Commission, there were 1,91,293 voters in the Dharmadam constituency during the 2021 Assembly Elections. Out of this, 87,647 were male, and 1,03,644 were female voters. There were no voters who belonged to the third gender. 6,020 postal votes were cast in the constituency. The number of service voters in Dharmadam in 2021 was 976 (941 men and 35 women).
In 2016, the total number of voters in the Dharmadam constituency was 1,81,626. Out of this, 82,743 voters were male, 98,883 were female, and zero belonged to a third gender. There were 1,437 postal votes in the constituency. The number of service voters in Dharmadam in 2015 was 2,165 (1,510 men and 655 women).
What happened in the 2021 and 2016 Assembly Elections?
In the 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, CPI(M) candidate Pinarayi Vijayan won the Dharmadam seat with a margin of 50,123 votes (31.16%). He polled 95,522 votes with a vote share of 59.61%. He defeated Congress candidate C Raghunathan, who got 45,399 votes with a vote share of 28.33%. BJP candidate CK Padmanabhan stood third with 14,623 votes (9.13%)
In the 2016 Kerala Assembly Elections, CPM candidate Pinarayi Vijayan won the Dharmadam seat with a margin of 36,905 votes (24.02%). He polled 87,329 votes with a vote share of 56.84%. Congress candidate Mambaram Divakaran got 50,424 votes (32.82%) and was the runner-up. BJP candidate Mohanan Mananthery stood third with 12,763 votes (8.31%).
