Thiruvananthapuram Elections 2024: Shashi Tharoor vs Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Clash of the Titans

The Thiruvananthapuram constituency is one of 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala. Sharing its name with the state capital, it comprises part of the Thiruvananthapuram (also known as Trivandrum) district. This is a General category seat. Seven Assembly seats fall under the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency. Of these, the CPM currently holds five (Kazhakoottam, Vattiyooukavu, Nemom, Parassala and Neyyattinkara), while the Congress (Kovalam) and Janadhipathiya Kerala Congress (Thiruvananthapuram) hold one each. The constituency will vote in the second phase of general elections on April 26, 2024.

Sitting MP – Shashi Tharoor (Congress)

Candidates – Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Rajeev Chandrasekhar (BJP), Panniyan Raveendran (CPI)

Political Dynamics

• Considered to be the political nerve centre of Kerala, the Thiruvananthapuram seat is locked in a three-way contest between sitting MP and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, BJP leader and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and CPI’s Panniyan Raveendran.
• The Congress and the CPI are in alliance at the national level as part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), but in Kerala, they are contesting against each other as part of the rival state blocs – United Democratic Front (UDF) and Left Democratic Front (LDF), respectively.
• Pre-2009, Thiruvananthapuram had been shifting its allegiance between the UDF and LDF as both parties managed to win seats for equal terms in past elections.
• After Shashi Tharoor started winning from the seat in 2009, with his ‘Global Citizen’ and god-fearing, temple-going image, the rivals had little chance of regaining the seat.
• This time, however, there seems to be a strong undercurrent in favour of the BJP in Thiruvananthapuram, coupled with the fatigue factor against Tharoor who has been MP from here for 15 years now.
• By all accounts, the title fight may come down to Shashi Tharoor vs Rajeev Chandrashekhar with a narrow margin.
• The LDF comprises major partners such as the CPI(M), CPI, and Kerala Congress (M).
• The UDF includes the Congress, Muslim League, and various regional parties.
• The BJP-led NDA is bolstered by the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), backed by the leadership of the SNDP Yogam, representing the influential Ezhava community.
• Congress-UDF: Senior Congress leader and three-time MP Shashi Tharoor will be contesting his fourth consecutive Lok Sabha election from Thiruvananthapuram this time.
• The 68-year-old has been winning this seat on the trot since 2009, the year he wrested it from the CPI.
• After winning in 2009, Tharoor had served as the Minister of State for Human Resource Development and Minister of State for External Affairs in Congress-led UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments.
• In the 2014 elections, Tharoor had to sweat it out and saw a deep decline in his margin compared to the 2009 victory.
• He managed to scrape through in 2009 with a meagre margin of about 16,000 votes to his rival candidate, O Rajagopal of the NDA.
• In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Shashi Tharoor scored a hat-trick in the constituency with a wide margin of 99,989 votes over his nearest rival, BJP’s Kummanam Rajashekharan.
• Campaigning round-the-clock this time too, Tharoor is citing his development work in the constituency to secure a record fourth term from Thiruvananthapuram.
• He has been seeking a debate with his competitors in the constituency but said there seems to be “reluctance” to engage on their part.
• He claimed both BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar and CPI’s Panniyan Raveendran have turned down multiple invitations to debate “from a variety of organisations”.
• Shashi Tharoor has written off any competition from the Left Democratic Front (LDF) but acknowledged a challenge from BJP’s “energetic and professional” poll campaign.
• The sitting Thiruvananthapuram MP has also accused the Left of dividing anti-BJP votes in the constituency.
• Factional feuds, the lack of coordination, the fight between Congress Kerala unit chief K Sudhakaran and the Leader of Opposition, VD Satheesan, and local Congress leaders joining the BJP among others have made the poll battle tough for the grand old party in the southern state.
• The Congress-led alliance had secured 19 out of 20 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. However, that trend was immediately reversed in the subsequent local self-government polls and the state Assembly elections.
• Fatigue factor against Tharoor: There is said to be considerable anti-incumbency against Tharoor on the ground with some voters complaining he has not done much work in the constituency.
• The Congress cadre too seem to be low on enthusiasm for Tharoor.
• They reportedly wanted the ticket to be given to someone else this time and were not too happy at Tharoor being given the Thiruvananthapuram ticket for the fourth time.
• Tharoor has played down the ‘fatigue factor’ in interview, arguing that fatigue settles in when there is stagnancy and that his terms “have seen anything but that”.
• Women, who made a huge chunk of Tharoor’s support base earlier, too seem less gung-ho about the sitting MP this election season.
• BJP: The BJP has fielded three-time member of the Rajya Sabha, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, as its candidate from Thiruvananthapuram.
• The NDA candidate selection was done with the utmost care, as the BJP wanted a leader who could take on Shashi Tharoor in full steam.
• Chandrasekhar, whose latest Rajya Sabha term ended on April 2, is raring to contest his first Lok Sabha elections.
• The Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Electronics and Information Technology, Chandrasekhar has worked with global tech giants, such as Intel.
• In 1991, he returned to India and founded BPL Mobile in 1994. He was one of the pioneers to invest in and build the Indian telecom sector.
• The 59-year-old also contributed in the formulation of the New Telecom Policy (NTP ’99) that led to the growth and success of the cellular sector.
• He later founded Jupiter Capital as a private equity investor in 2006 and was its chairman till 2014. Jupiter Capital owns the leading news media outlet in Kerala, Asianet News.
• Chandrasekhar’s parliamentary journey began in 2006. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in May 2006, representing Karnataka.
• Once a chip designer, he has been a key voice of the Narendra Modi government on issues, including digitisation, emerging technologies, and artificial intelligence (AI).
• He has also been vocal in questioning tech giants, particularly social media companies, on their policies and products.
• A votary for a free and open internet and net neutrality, Chandrasekhar had opposed certain decisions taken by the previous Congress-led UPA government.
• In his parliamentary career, Chandrasekhar has been a member of the key standing committee on finance, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Joint Committee on Data Protection Bill, 2019 and the consultative committee on education and IT.
• A union minister since July 2021, Chandrasekhar has been associated with the Vivekananda International Foundation.
• Along with door-to-door campaigns, Chandrasekhar is focussing on special events like seminars, meetings with people, and press conferences to get his points across in the Hindu-dominated constituency.
• While the Congress is pinning its hopes on roadshows in Thiruvananthapuram, the BJP has made a concerted booth-level push, giving it an edge.
• In the 2014 elections, the BJP-led NDA had managed to secure the second position in the constituency for the first time.
• Its candidate O Rajagopal had given sitting Congress MP Shashi Tharoor quite a scare, narrowing down the margin of the latter’s victory to just 16,000.
• Assets controversy: The Congress had recently moved the Election Commission complaining there is a mismatch between the actual assets of Chandrasekhar and those that he has declared in his election affidavit.
• The Election Commission directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to verify any mismatch in the affidavit details submitted by Chandrasekhar.
• The union minister then clarified that his taxable income for the financial year 2021-22 sharply reduced to just Rs 680 due to the losses he suffered during the Covid-19 period.
• Defamation notice saga: Union Minister and BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar has sent a legal notice to Shashi Tharoor, accusing the Congress MP of making defamatory statements against him on a TV channel recently.
• Chandrasekhar has alleged that the Congress leader disseminated “patently false information” about bribing of key voters and influential figures such as parish priests, among others, by the BJP candidate.
• Chandrasekhar has contended that the statements also disrespected the Christian community of Thiruvananthapuram and its leaders as Tharoor accused them of engaging in cash-for-votes.
• The notice sought Tharoor to “immediately withdraw” all the allegations made against Chandrashekhar on April 6, tender an unconditional public apology to him on print and electronic media.
• Hitting back, Tharoor has sent his own legal notice denying the charge and demanding an apology from Chandrashekhar for making “false and fraudulent” allegations.
• Leveraging Modi’s popularity: The BJP is leveraging Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s frequent visits to Kerala, emphasising developmental agendas tailored to the state’s needs.
• The party’s campaign slogan, ‘Modi’s guarantee’, underscores its reliance on the Prime Minister’s popularity and leadership in Kerala.
• Returning to the state, PM Modi attended two public meetings in Kerala on April 15, including one in Thiruvananthapuram.
• This was Modi’s sixth visit to the state. He had last come to Kerala on March 19 when he held a massive roadshow in Palakkad district.
• His Palakkad roadshow followed his participation at a public meeting in Pathanamthitta town on March 15, where he rallied support for NDA candidates contesting in the southern Kerala constituencies.
• Prior to that, he had visited the state twice in January and once in February. These visits included both official and party functions.
• CPI-LDF: Challenging Shashi Tharoor and Rajeev Chandrasekhar from the Left Democratic Front is CPI leader Panniyan Raveendran, a champion of the common man known for his soft-spoken demeanour.
• Raveendran previously served as the constituency’s representative in a 2005 by-election following the demise of the incumbent MP, PK Vasudevan Nair, also from the LDF.
• The LDF believes that the simple and easily accessible image of Panniyan, as he is popularly known in the state, will help him influence the voters and wrest the constituency back, defeating both the Congress and the BJP.
• As a politician, Raveendran is likeable enough, but whether this would translate into votes is not clear, especially since the CPM and CPI cadre haven’t been as visible on the ground as the BJP or Congress ones.
• Panniyan Raveendran’s own campaigning too is not as aggressive as the BJP or Congress rallies.
• Raveendran has been concentrating more on the rural parts of the constituency during his campaign, with occasional programmes in the city. The LDF has a stronger vote bank in rural areas.
• As was seen in 2019, the possibility of a section of Left supporters crossvoting in favour of Congress’s Shashi Tharoor cannot be ruled out since the LDF would want to keep the BJP out at all costs.
• Caste and community factors: The BJP is primarily eyeing the majority Hindu votes in the constituency, which comes to around 76.8% of the voter list as per the 2019 election statistics.
• The saffron party has been making inroads into areas like Vizhinjam where the Nadar community is present in higher numbers.
• But most importantly, it has been reaching out to the Latin Catholic voters in the fishing community.
• BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrashekhar has also been making promises that directly speak to the fishing community, assuring them of pukka houses as well as cheaper and cleaner fuel for their boats.
• Tharoor is, however, confident that the coastal community in Thiruvananthapuram won’t vote for the LDF or the BJP.
• He said he believes that the coastal community knows that neither the LDF government in its eight-year-long tenure nor the BJP-ruled Centre in the past 10 years has done anything for them.
• Both LDF and UDF are focussing on the Hindu majority votes and, at the same time, are also looking to tap into the Christian (14%) and Muslim (9.1%) votes in the constituency that may get consolidated against the BJP.
• Voting pattern: Thiruvananthapuram has a majority of urban voters, and past voting patterns show that there is a considerable number of neutral voters who vote based on the capacity of the candidate over political affiliations.
• The elections this year will be mostly dependent on the swing in neutral votes and also on how the minority coastal Christian belt and Muslim voters decide to vote.
• Voting planks: Tharoor rides on the hope that his global image will help him win the constituency for the fourth time.
• The NDA, on the other hand, is trying to cash in on the ‘non-performance’ of the three-term MP and trying to woo the urban elitists and neutral voters with the foreign-educated Chandrasekhar.
• CPI’s Raveendran, on the other hand, hopes his work as an MP for the constituency during the 2005–2009 period will help him and that the people will reject both the UDF and NDA candidates this time.

Key Constituency Issues

• Demands by Latin Catholics: With candidates aggressively wooing the Latin Church’s support for Lok Sabha elections in Kerala, the Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) has come out with a 15-point charter of demands.
• The Latin Church in Kerala is composed of 12 dioceses and 20 lakh members.
• Their demands include: Implementation of caste census for reservation benefits; Withdrawal of cases against community members in Vizhinjam port agitation; Release of the JB Koshy Commission report on economic conditions of Christians; Address problems in Moolampilly rehab, Bonacaud Kurisumala, black sand mining; Address concerns of coastal highway project, announce rehabilitation package for those affected by it; Sustainable coastal protection measures; Address problems and livelihood issues due to Vizhinjam port; and avoid delay in implementing Coastal Zone Management Plan 2019.
• Probe against Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter: In March-end, the Enforcement Directorate filed a money-laundering case against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan and her IT firm for allegedly receiving “illegal payments” from a Kochi-based private firm.
• The ED booked Veena Vijayan and her company after taking cognisance of a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), an investigative arm of the Union Corporate Affairs Ministry.
• Reacting strongly to the registration of the case, CPI(M) in Kerala accused the central probe agency of doing “daily labour” for the ruling BJP at the Centre.
• The opposition Congress, which has been alleging a secret pact between the BJP and CPI(M) in the state, said it was an “election stunt” ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
• The BJP justified the move, saying corrupt people should have to face the consequences too.
• Citizenship Amendment Act: With its staunch opposition to the CAA, the Left expects the support of the progressive segment of the electorate along with the minorities.
• Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has labelled the Citizenship Amendment Act as unconstitutional, against human rights, and a challenge to the idea of India.
• The state cabinet has also decided to pursue legal measures aligned with the state government’s stance against the contentious law.
• According to an official statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the Advocate General has been tasked with initiating legal proceedings in the matter, further to the original suit that is before the Supreme court.
• The BJP in turn accused Pinarayi Vijayan of making such statements with the intention of fostering communal division before elections.
• It said the decision to withdraw cases registered against the anti-CAA protestors was taken to appease a particular community.
• The CAA was passed in December 2019 and subsequently got the President’s assent, but there were protests in several parts of the country against it, with many opposition parties speaking out against the law, calling it “discriminatory”.
• This act grants citizenship to undocumented migrants of all religions — except Muslims — from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
• Manipur violence impact: The violence in Manipur allegedly targeting Christians and their churches has also, to an extent, dented the BJP’s bid to reach out to Christian community in Kerala, whose support is considered crucial for the party to end its electoral drought in the state.
• The Christian communities here have expressed their concerns over the matter during their meetings with BJP leaders and central ministers.
• The saffron party has tried to address their concern, meeting the community leaders more often and trying to convince them that the violence in the northeastern state is not a communal one but due to the rivalry of the tribal groups.
• Human-animal conflict: The issue of human-animal conflict has also emerged as a major point of discussion in Thiruvananthapuram besides the forested districts in Kerala.
• While the Left has been vocal in advocating for conservation and sustainable development measures, a stand which the Congress also supports partially, the BJP has blamed the state government saying it lacks political will to implement the provisions of the central Acts to deal with the wild animal menace.
• The Congress party blames both the state and the central government for the rise in human-animal conflicts.
• Water Scarcity: Despite assurances from the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) about sufficient water reserves, Thiruvananthapuram residents, particularly those residing in elevated areas, are facing severe water scarcity.
• The situation has led to a surge in demand for water tanker services, with residents relying on the “Smart Trivandrum” app to book water deliveries.
• Recent pipe bursts in several areas have exacerbated the problem, leaving residents in Jawahar Nagar, Medical College, and Sreekariyam struggling to access drinking water. Tanker lorry drivers report a significant increase in demand for their services, highlighting the severity of the crisis.
• While the KWA claims that the Peppara dam has enough water to last until June, the current water levels remain below optimal. Additionally, residents near the Choozhampala water source have raised objections to tankers drawing water from the area due to local scarcity.
• Drainage: Thiruvananthapuram, despite experiencing relatively low rainfall compared to other parts of Kerala, faces recurring flooding due to inadequate drainage infrastructure and poor urban planning. Recent heavy rains once again exposed the city’s vulnerability, causing widespread waterlogging and disrupting daily life for residents.
• The city lacks a comprehensive drainage master plan to effectively channel rainwater runoff to the sea. While the “Operation Anantha” initiative aimed to address urban flooding, it fell short of its objectives due to local opposition to the construction of a crucial breakwater at Veli.
• Akkulam Lake, the city’s primary water body for receiving floodwater, is heavily silted and polluted, further hindering drainage. Additionally, the construction of roads and other infrastructure has obstructed natural waterways, exacerbating the problem.
• Experts emphasize the urgent need for a permanent water outlet to the sea at Veli, as suggested in the KSDMA’s hazard assessment report. A breakwater with modern technology, such as Duckbill Check Valves, is crucial to ensure the smooth flow of floodwater and prevent saltwater intrusion into Akkulam Lake.

Voter Demographics

Social composition

SC — 11.3%

ST — 0.8%

Religious composition

Buddhist — 0.01%

Christian — 19.1%

Jain — 0%

Muslim — 13.72%

Sikh — 0.01%

Major Infra Projects in Thiruvananthapuram

• Smart City 2.0: The Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation has been chosen for the Union government’s Smart City mission 2.0.
• The corporation had also been chosen for the first Smart City mission in 2017.
• Projects worth Rs 1,135 crore are currently being implemented in the state capital under the scheme.
• The deadline to complete projects under Smart City 1.0 is June 2024.
• The second phase of the project will focus on waste management.
• Vizhinjam International Seaport: The Vizhinjam International Seaport is a significant infrastructure project in Kerala. Planned to be one of India’s deepest seaports, it aims to transform the state into a major transshipment hub and boost maritime trade and logistics activities in the region.
• It is strategically positioned to serve as a hub for trade routes connecting Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia.
• In February this year, the Kerala government said it would approve signing the tripartite agreement to get the Viability Gap Fund released to the Adani firm constructing the Vizhinjam international transhipment hub and seaport, on the condition that the second and third phase is completed by 2028.
• The tripartite agreement would make available the viability gap fund of Rs 817.80 crore allocated by the central government to Adani Vizhinjam Private Port Limited (AVPPL), which is constructing the port.
• The state government expects that finishing the project 17 years before the scheduled deadline will bring in huge investment within a short period.
• The CMO said that as per the terms of the agreement, AVPPL, was supposed to complete the construction on December 3, 2019.
• Even though AVPPL had cited unforeseeable and unavoidable events such as Cyclone Ockhi and floods in the state as reasons for not completing the project within the stipulated time, the Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) had rejected the request for extension of time for completing the project, the CMO said.
• Kerala Coastal Highway: The Kerala Coastal Highway is being constructed between Pozhiyur in Thiruvananthapuram and Kunjathur near Kasaragod, with a total length of 624km.
• The KRFB will construct 468 km of the highway, while the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) Bharatmala project will construct the remaining portion.
• The fishing community in Kerala has been protesting against the project, citing displacement of the community, and impact on the environment as well as their livelihood.
• Light Metro Project: The Thiruvananthapuram Light Metro Project (TPI) is a medium-scale project that will improve urban connectivity in the capital of Kerala.
• The project is estimated to cost Rs 4,219 crore and is funded by the Kerala government, the Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation (KRTL), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
• The project’s first phase is planned to cover 27.4 km from Pallipuram Technocity to Pallichal via Karamana-Kaimanam.
• The second phase will cover 14.7 km from Killipalam to Kazhakoottam via Technopark, Lulu Mall, Chacka, and Eanchakkal.
• Trivandrum Outer Ring Road: The Thiruvananthapuram Outer Area Growth Corridor (OAGC) is an 80 km six-lane ring road proposed for Thiruvananthapuram. It is also known as the Outer Ring Road (ORR) project.
• It comprises a 63-km stretch from Vizhinjam to Navaikulam via Thekkada on NH66 and a 12km reach from Thekkada to Mangalapuram.
• The project is critical to developing the Vizhinjam and surrounding areas into a commercial hub.
• The decision on the sharing of costs for the project between the central and state governments has been put off till after elections.
• The state government had reportedly agreed to shoulder 50% of the costs for land acquisition. However, it later requested its burden be reduced to 25%.
• Greenfield corridor projects: The Bharatmala Pariyojana includes several greenfield corridor projects for Kerala, including Thiruvananthapuram–Kasaragod Coastal Highway and Palakkad–Kozhikode Greenfield Highway.
• The Thiruvananthapuram–Kasaragod Coastal Highway is 14-metre-wide highway that will start at Pozhiyoor in Thiruvananthapuram district and end at Kunjathur in Kasaragod district. The Kerala government is bearing the estimated cost of Rs 6,500 crore.
• The Palakkad–Kozhikode Greenfield Highway will start at Marutharode village in Palakkad and end at Pantheeramkavu in Kozhikode. The central government first designed the alignment of the project in 2018, and it is expected to cost Rs 8,000 crore.
• Mumbai-Kanyakumari corridor: The corridor, with a total length of 1,619km and being built at an estimated cost of Rs 90,000 crore, is expected to transform the landscape of Kerala and reduce travel time between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram from 17 hours to seven hours.
• High-Speed Rail: The Government of Kerala in association with the Ministry of Railways has decided to construct a semi high-speed rail corridor of 529.45 km length from Thiruvanathapuram to Kasaragod which will take only four hours to travel between the two cities by traversing at a dream speed of 200 km/h. This project is known to be “SilverLine”.
• The corridor, connecting Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram, will have an operating speed of 200kmph, and will ease the transport between North and South ends of the state and reduce the total travel time to less than four hours, compared with the present 10 to 12 hours.
• The intermediate stations include Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kochi Airport, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur.
• Curves on Kerala rail routes to be straightened: The railways have initiated efforts to straighten out sharp curves along railway lines between Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore to enhance the speed of trains running between these stations.
• The railways expect to complete these works within the next three months.
• Vande Bharat extension: The Ministry of Railways has approved extension of train number 20632/20631 Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express up to Mangaluru.
• The trains will operate six days a week, except Wednesday.
• The train will halt at Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Tirur, Shoranur, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Kollam.
• Solar energy project: The Kerala government last year launched an ambitious project to turn every rooftop in Thiruvananthapuram into a solar energy-producing station.
• Through this project, the state capital aims to become one of the largest ‘solar cities’ in the country.
• The Kerala government-run Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT) had also held a three-day expo, where the public was invited to purchase various solar energy systems to implement a central government scheme that was launched in 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the Smart City Mission.

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