Published Feb 19, 2026 | 2:47 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 19, 2026 | 2:47 PM
Thripunithura MLA K Babu. (Supplied)
Synopsis: Recalling his political beginnings, Babu said that in 1991, when he was asked to contest from Thripunithura, he had initially conveyed his reluctance. However, the Congress leadership fielded him in what was then considered a stronghold of the CPI(M). “The people of Thripunithura gave me tremendous support. Though I was an ordinary person, the Congress and the people stood by me and made me win six times,” he said.
K Babu, the sitting MLA from Thripunithura, has announced that he will not contest the upcoming Assembly elections, bringing to a close a long and eventful electoral journey in the constituency.
Speaking at a press conference at the DCC office along with DCC President Mohammed Shias and other Congress leaders, Babu said that although there had been earlier speculation about his decision, he was formally declaring that he would not seek seat.
He clarified that he would not suggest a successor and that the party leadership would decide the best candidate.
Babu further expressed confidence that the UDF would retain Thripunithura and asserted that a change of government was certain in the state.
Recalling his political beginnings, Babu said that in 1991, when he was asked to contest from Thripunithura, he had initially conveyed his reluctance. However, the Congress leadership fielded him in what was then considered a stronghold of the CPI(M). “The people of Thripunithura gave me tremendous support. Though I was an ordinary person, the Congress and the people stood by me and made me win six times,” he said.
Babu won consecutively from Thripunithura from 1991 to 2011. In 2016, amid bar bribery allegations, he lost to CPI(M)’s M. Swaraj by 4,467 votes. He made a comeback in 2021, defeating Swaraj by 992 votes and reclaiming the seat.
Over seven contests from the constituency, he secured six victories.
He first entered the Assembly in 1991 by defeating senior CPI(M) leader M.M. Lawrence by 4,946 votes.
In subsequent elections, he defeated Gopi Kottamurikkal (1996), K. Chandran Pillai (2001), K.N. Raveendranath (2006), and C.M. Dineshmani (2011).
A former Excise, Ports and Fisheries Minister in the Oommen Chandy Cabinet, Babu is a prominent Congress leader in Ernakulam district and a key figure in the party’s ‘A’ group.
He began his public career through student politics and served as the first chairman of Angamaly Municipality in 1979–80, becoming its youngest chairman.
Babu is currently facing a disproportionate assets case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, which had earlier frozen assets worth ₹25.82 lakh.
With his announcement, the Congress will now turn its attention to selecting a new candidate for Thripunithura, a constituency that has seen intense contests in recent elections.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
