The rejection of nomination papers of aspiring candidates for the local body elections has caused heartbreak for political parties in the district.
The Congress has taken the biggest hit in the district, with four of its official candidates losing the chance to contest after errors were found in their nomination papers.
Congress nominees Elsy George, Kadamakudy division of the Ernakulam district panchayat, Sareena Shaji and Johnson Punathil, Manakkapady and Varapuzha divisions of the Alangad block panchayat, and Praveena Ajith, Pattupurackal ward of the Thrikkakara municipality, were removed from the contest after officials found faults in their nomination papers on Saturday (November 22, 2025).
The rejection of Ms. George’s nomination, who serves as the vice chairperson in the outgoing district panchayat council, has dealt a major blow to the Congress, leaving the party without a candidate in the newly created Kadamakudy division where it had expected an easy win. The party had not fielded a dummy candidate in the division.
In Manakkapady, the Congress has no alternative candidate after Ms. Shaji’s nomination was rejected. Denny Joseph Punathil, who had been fielded as a dummy candidate, will now be the party’s official nominee in Varapuzha.
In the Pattupurackal ward of Thrikkakara, the Congress was forced to endorse the candidature of rebel leader Liji Suresh. Ms. Suresh, district general secretary of the Mahila Congress and a councillor in the outgoing council, had filed her nomination as an Independent after the party chose newcomer Ms. Ajith, whose papers were later rejected.
The nominations of CPI(M)’s K.K. Santhosh, Kannankery ward, and BJP’s K.K. Sajayan, Thoppil North ward, were also rejected in the Thrikkakara municipality after it was found that the candidates had failed to sign their nomination forms.
While the CPI(M)’s dummy candidate Prasad K.K. saved the day for the party in Kannankery, the BJP has been left without a candidate in Thoppil North. A similar situation has unfolded for the BJP in the Glass Factory Nagar and Pipeline wards of the Kalamassery municipality, where the nominations of party candidates Dilsha Biju and Prajeela Suresh, respectively, were rejected. The nomination of the BJP’s candidate in the Ambalamedu division of the Vadavucode block panchayat K.S. Giridasan was also rejected.
District Congress Committee (DCC) president Muhammed Shiyas on Sunday (November 23, 2025) reiterated that election officials colluded with the ruling LDF to reject the party’s candidates’ nominations. He said Ms. George was not given a chance to file another nomination before the deadline.
Ms. Shaji’s nomination was rejected on the grounds that she was an employee of the State-run Khadi Board. Mr. Shiyas said she was only a part-time worker at the Karumaloor unit of the board. “Five people engaged in similar work are contesting the elections in Kannur and Kasaragod districts,” he added.
He said the Congress will file a petition seeking the removal of Maja Jose, a fisheries department official, from the post of returning officer of the Alangad block panchayat.
CPI(M) district secretary S. Satheesh, meanwhile, said the rejection of nominations has exposed the true state of the Congress, which failed to field dummy candidates and follow basic rules while filling out nomination forms. According to official figures released on Sunday, a total of 404 nominations were rejected in the district.
Published – November 24, 2025 12:44 am IST
