KK Rema, on the day of filing her nomination as a candidate from Vadakara constituency in Kozhikode, had told TNM that her fight is against the anti-people policies of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by the CPI(M). The Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader has won the seat for the party with a margin of 7,014 votes. "The victory is being dedicated to TP and this is a response to his cold-blooded murder," Rema told the media on Sunday after the victory.
She defeated Manayath Chandran of the Loktantrik Janata Dal, an ally of the LDF. Manayath Chandran didn't win in any of the rounds during counting while Rema maintained her lead from the beginning.
Rema stands out in Kerala politics as she has been opposing the CPI(M) in its erstwhile stronghold of Onchiyam in Vadakara. Rema, who was a state committee member of the Students Federation of India — students' wing of the CPI(M), forayed into active politics again after the death of her husband TP Chandrasekharan. Onchiyam is the hometown of TP and was his fortress.
Slain leader TP Chandrasekharan had floated the RMP after breaking away from the CPI(M) in 2010. He was one of the prominent leaders of the CPI(M) in the region. TP, as he was known, was killed in 2012. Three of the CPI(M) leaders were convicted for his murder. His killing has evoked constant debates on political murders in the state. Following the murder of TP, many of the CPI(M) workers began backing the RMP.
TP was killed on May 4, 2012 and incidentally, Rema's victory has come two days before his death anniversary.
While the RMP contested the 2016 Assembly elections without any outside support, KK Rema’s candidature in the 2021 elections was backed by the Congress-led United Democratic Front. RMP has contested only from Vadakara in both the elections since this region has been a stronghold for the party.