Kovalam election results 2026: UDF's M Vincent defeats Independent Bhagat Rufus by 32,709 votes

In Kerala's Kovalam, UDF's M Vincent received 79,661 votes to defeat Independent Bhagat Rufus by 32,709 votes. Rufus got 46,952 votes.Kovalam Assembly constituency is a general seat in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, encompassing coastal areas around Kovalam beach, fishing villages, and tourist hubs with beach tourism, cashew processing, and coastal communities shaping its politics. The current MLA is M. Vincent from INC (UDF), elected in 2021 with 74,868 votes (47.06per cent), defeating JD(S)'s Neelalohithadasan Nadar (63,306 votes, 39.79per cent) by 11,562 votes, while BJP's Vishnupuram Chandrasekharan got 18,664 votes (11.73per cent) amid 70.76per cent turnout. Key issues include coastal erosion threatening beaches and cliffs; poor drainage causing urban flooding; youth unemployment despite tourism jobs; erratic water supply; overburdened PHCs; illegal sand mining polluting backwaters; monsoon power outages; rising land prices from hotel boom; traffic near tourist spots; inadequate public transport; and waste management gaps challenging this UDF-won coastal-tourism economy.