A day after newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor R. Sreelekha’s demanded Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] MLA V.K. Prasanth to vacate his office at Sasthamangalam in the capital, Congress councillor K.S. Sabarinadhan also raised a similar demand.
In a Facebook post on Monday (December 29, 2025), Mr. Sabarinadhan said Mr. Prasanth should be using the facilities in the MLA hostel allotted in his name.
Claiming that the MLA was occupying the Corporation-owned building on a low rent, Mr. Sabarinadhan said the civic body should provide basic facilities for all the councillors to work.
“Most of the MLAs in Kerala have their offices in rented buildings in their own constituencies. When I was an MLA, I had also rented a room in Aryanad. But Mr. Prasanth is lucky that the MLA hostel is located in the Vattiyurkavu constituency that he represents. The MLA hostel in the heart of the city has good rooms, computer facilities, car parking and all other facilities. Two rooms also have been allotted to him. When the government is providing the MLA hostel with all these facilities free of cost, why should he be renting a room? In my opinion, it is better to move to the MLA hostel for the remaining period of this Assembly,” Mr. Sabarinadhan wrote in the post.
Mr. Prasanth accused the Congress leader of “giving cover” to the BJP-led Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s move to “bulldoze MLAs out of their offices.”
Mr. Prasanth said he had rented the office, located centrally in his constituency, so that his office would remain “easily accessible” to the general public.
“Although my home was in Kazhakuttam, I shifted my residence to the Vattiyurkavu constituency to ensure that I am always available for the people here. The office was also rented with the same mentality. It is unfortunate that a former MLA like Sabarinadhan would make such demands, echoing the BJP’s allegations,” said Mr. Prasanth.
On Sunday, after Ms. Sreelekha raised the demand for him to vacate the building, Mr. Prasanth had said there was “no question of vacating” as he had paid the rent till March 31, 2026 to the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, which owns the building.
After the issue flared up, Ms. Sreelekha, former Director General of Police (DGP), visited Mr. Prasanth at his office Sunday noon and said she had only made “a friendly request” considering the inadequacies of the space allotted for the Sasthamangalam councillor in the same building.