Kerala polls: Vypeen has been an LDF stronghold, but Munambam land issue gives them headache

Lissy Antony, 77, from Pallippuram in Munambam, Ernakulam, joined a relay hunger strike for nearly 250 days, protesting the Waqf claim over her land. Lissy was a devout Marxist for 57 years; she worked and voted for CPM. But on Dec 9, 2025 — the civic body poll day — she pressed the button next to Lotus symbol for the first time.

Lissy's is not an isolated case. Mahathi Sharangadharan said she had to approach a money lender to meet the expenses of her granddaughter's wedding last month as she could not pledge her property. "We could only make assurances to the groom's family that she would eventually have the rights to her ancestral property. What a wretched situation is this?" Sharangadharan asked, adding that she too switched her allegiance to BJP.





After a section of protesters called off the year-long strike on Velankanni Matha Church premises in Dec last year, a new protest tent was erected opposite to it. Around the tent are flags of the Christian Association & Alliance For Social Action (Casa), BJP and Twenty20.

BJP candidate Kunjimon Augustine secured victory in the Munambam Kadappuram ward of Pallippuram grama panchayat, where a majority of affected families reside. He secured 582 votes and defeated a CPM candidate by 31 votes. The region had never elected a BJP candidate before that day, as most of those who voted for Augustine were either Congress or CPM supporters in the past.

Munambam belongs to Vypeen constituency and poll pundits do not expect pro-BJP sentiments in the Waqf-affected area to reflect in the rest of the assembly segment, pointing out that the local body results too proved that the BJP's influence was limited to the locality.

In the assembly elections, NDA has set aside Vypeen seat to its new ally, Twenty20. When the two parties contested separately in the 2021 elections — when Munambam was not an issue — Twenty20 and BJP secured 16,707 and 13,540 votes, respectively. Hence, NDA can boast a 30,000-strong voter base this time. If it encroaches on the vote share of the two rival fronts, then the results can be worrying for them.

Those who switched allegiance said it was not politics but desperation that forced them to take drastic steps.

Lissy said that she felt betrayed by both LDF and UDF. "It was in the early 1990s that we bought these lands. We have been pledging, selling and taking loans with our deeds. But in 2022-23, we heard the term Waqf for the first time and our lives have not been the same since. Both these fronts were in power when all this was happening and neither could prevent it. Our situation forced us to support BJP," said Lissy.

Jincy, another resident, however, said that all political parties had failed them. "The protest was called off when sanction was given for paying land tax. We still can't pay tax online like everyone else; we've to go to the village office where they make notes in the remarks section. We don't have other revenue rights like mutation (pokkuvaravu) of land records. In my opinion, even BJP is yet to provide us justice despite passing the Waqf Amendment Act, as the rules are not framed yet," said Jincy.

For Sindhu Haridas, her property was set to be acquired for constructing a bridge here, but she fears that she wouldn't get compensation for it. Shelton P J, meanwhile, is struggling to find funds for his son's studies as he cannot pledge his property to avail a loan. As they await a legal solution, they hope that some political patron will finally get them out of this mess soon.

Vypeen has been an LDF stronghold so far. With MLA K N Unnikrishnan moving to Tripunithura constituency, LDF has fielded its firebrand youth leader M B Shiny against the UDF's challenger Tony Chammany. Anitha Thomas is the NDA candidate.

LDF is pinning its hopes on the constituency's traditional voting pattern. CPM's margin was cut to 8,002 votes in 2021 compared with the 19,353 votes in 2016. UDF aims to wrest the seat this time even as NDA is determined to upset the rivals' plans.