Ex-Top Cop R Sreelekha Makes Kerala Assembly Election Debut On BJP Ticket

The Vattiyoorkavu assembly constituency in Thiruvananthapuram is one of the closely watched battlegrounds in the Kerala elections. Former Kerala Director General of Police (DGP) R Sreelekha is contesting from this seat on a BJP ticket, turning it into an intense three-way fight. 

Sitting MLA V K Prashanth is representing the CPI(M)-led LDF, while senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan, who formerly represented the constituency, is attempting to wrest his former fortress.

Early Life

Born in 1960, Sreelekha is married to Dr Sethunath, a professor of pediatric surgery in Thiruvananthapuram. The couple has a son who is an MBA student. 

Sreelekha studied at Cotton Hill Girls Higher Secondary School in Thiruvananthapuram. She completed her bachelor's degree in English Literature from Women's College and Masters from the University Institute of English.

Who Is Sreelekha?

A well-known face in Kerala, R Sreelekha is the state's first woman IPS officer and the first woman to become DGP. She joined the IPS in January 1987 and had a career spanning over three decades.

During her career, Sreelekha held several key positions. She worked with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Kerala Crime Branch, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Fire Force, Motor Vehicles Department and the Prison Department. She gained the nickname “Raid Sreelekha” for her high-visibility operations during her deputation with the CBI.

In 2017, she was promoted to the rank of DGP, becoming the first woman to be elevated to the rank in Kerala. She retired in December 2020 after 33 years of service.

Five years after retirement, she entered politics by joining the BJP. A year later, she contested and won the local body elections from Sasthamangalam ward in Thiruvananthapuram in 2025.

At the time, there were reports that she was dissatisfied over not being appointed as the mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. Now, she will contest from the Vattiyoorkavu assembly constituency, where the BJP has been gradually expanding its base.

Before becoming IPS, she worked as a lecturer and bank officer. Besides her political career, she is also an author and digital creator. Sreelekha runs a popular YouTube channel, “Sasneham Sreelekha,” where she shares experiences from her police career. She is known to have written several books and contributes regular columns to periodicals and magazines. 

Honours and awards

Sreelekha has received several honours. She was awarded the President's Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2004. She also received the Indian Overseas Award for Public Service in 2006. 

Her performance in the upcoming polls is crucial as the BJP seeks to increase its footprint in the southern state. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA secured 19.24% of the votes in Kerala. 

It also marked its first-ever Lok Sabha win in the state, from Thrissur. The BJP had opened its account in the Kerala Assembly for the first time in 2016 when it won the Nemom constituency. The party failed to win any seats in the 2021 assembly polls.