Poonjar Election 2026: Triangular contest on the hot seat of Poonjar, who will be crowned?

Poonjar Assembly Election 2026: Poonjar assembly seat is one of the 140 assembly constituencies in Kerala. This seat is one of the most talked about and high-profile seats in the state. This seat falls in Kottayam district and the electoral history here has been quite interesting. Once again a triangular and close contest is being seen in Poonjar seat.

Competition between three big faces?

This time a direct contest is being seen between three prominent faces on Poonjar seat. The ruling LDF (Left Alliance) has expressed confidence in its sitting MLA Sebastian Kulathunkal. He is contesting the elections on the ticket of Kerala Congress (M) i.e. KCM and is hoping to win again on the basis of his development work in the last five years and efforts made for rubber farmers. In front of him, UDF (Congress alliance) has fielded Sebastian M.J. (also known as Advocate Saji Joseph) has been fielded. The candidate who brought this contest into discussion the most is P.C. George, who is contesting the elections this time as an official candidate of NDA (BJP alliance). After losing the election as an independent in 2021, P.C. George is now trying his luck on the lotus symbol of BJP.

History of Poonjar seat

Poonjar assembly constituency, located in Kottayam district of Kerala, came into existence with the formation of the state in 1957. Since then, 16 assembly elections (including by-elections) have been held here. In the initial decades, Congress and Kerala Congress dominated here, but after 1980, this seat went to P.C. George became famous. He represented here at different times with different coalitions and independently.

The 2016 election was the most memorable in the history of this seat, when P.C. George had won by a margin of more than 27 thousand votes as an independent candidate without the support of any major political party. However, in the 2021 elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) razed this fort and the Kerala Congress (M) candidate won here.

Poonjar’s electoral equation

Religious and economic issues always dominate Poonjar elections. This area is known for rubber cultivation, hence the falling prices of rubber and the plight of farmers is the biggest election issue here. Socially, the population of the Christian community plays a decisive role here, along with this, Muslim and Hindu voters also have a good influence.