In Kunnathunadu P V Srinijan of CPM has won the Kerala Assembly seat by a margin of 2,715 votes. Kunnathunad, an otherwise low-profile constituency in Ernakulam district, became an electoral hotspot this time with the entry of the Twenty20 Party in the assembly election fray. Twenty20, an apolitical organisation backed by the corporate entity Anna Kitex Group, attracted national attention as it grabbed power in the Kizhakkambalam panchayat shocking both the LDF and UDF. Twenty20 improved its stature manifold in the 2020 local body polls as it captured power in three more panchayats along with retaining Kizhakkamabalam.
Twenty20 fielded young law academic Sujith P Surendran in Kunnathunad in the assembly polls.
The entry of the outfit which rules four of the eight panchayats in the constituency, was seen as a threat by both the major political fronts. Some political observers saw Twenty20 spoiling the chances of both the UDF and LDF in the constituency.
This was Sajeendran's third electoral race from Kunnathunad. In 2016, Sajeendran won against CPM's Shiji Sivaji by a narrow margin of 2,679 votes. Before that, he had won by 8,732 votes in 2011 against CPM's MA Surendran.
For the LDF candidate Sreenijin, the son in law former Chief Justice of India, K G Balakrishnan, this was the maiden electoral battle. He joined the CPM after he quit the Congress.
