Devikulam Election Result 2026: Congress’ F. Raja Edges Past CPI(M) in Close Fight

F. Raja of Congress secures a narrow victory in Devikulam with a margin of just over 5,000 votes, defeating CPI(M)’s A. Raja in a tightly contested electoral battle.

Devikulam Assembly constituency, numbered 88, is in Idukki district of Kerala and falls under the Idukki parliamentary constituency.

Reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) since 2011, it was established in 1957 and redrawn in the 2008 delimitation, covering Devikulam taluk areas like Munnar Municipality, Pallivasal, Rajakkad panchayats, and tea plantation estates, with around 195,000 electors. This highland seat features plantation workers (mostly Tamil-origin SC communities), tea estates, cardamom farms, tourism hotspots like misty hills, and eco-sensitive zones, blending labor-intensive agriculture with scenic valleys near the Western Ghats. CPI(M) of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has dominated since 2011, with A. Raja as the current MLA.

In 2021, he won convincingly with 59,049 votes (42.18per cent), defeating INC's D. Kumar (51,201 votes) by 7,848 votes (5.62per cent) at 67.32per cent turnout, following S. Rajendran's 2016 victory (49,510 votes, 5,782 margin over A.K. Mony).

LDF's stronghold relies on plantation labor support against UDF's Christian and Congress bases, with BJP/AIADMK grabbing 8-10per cent via migrants.

Key issues include low wages and poor housing for tea pluckers, erratic monsoons hitting crops, landslides on ghat roads, waste management in tourist spots, water scarcity despite dams, land rights disputes, and demands for better schools, hospitals, and eco-tourism jobs amid climate threats.

These worker-centric concerns sustain LDF's edge in this picturesque yet challenging hill constituency.
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