Chittayam Gopakumar entered politics through All India Students Federation (AISF), during his school days. He became the state committee member of AISF.
He later joined All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and started organising trade union movements. He became AITUC state working committee member. He was the state secretary of Kerala Kashuvandi Thozhilali Kendra Council (Kerala Cashew Workers central union), State President of Asha Workers Union and Kollam district president of Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Federation (BKMU).
At 18 years age, he joined Communist Party of India (CPI) as a branch committee member. He is now the state council member of CPI.[2]
In 2011, CPI put him as a candidate from Adoor constituency, for the Kerala Legislative assembly election. He won the seat with a margin of 607 votes, by defeating the Congress candidate Pandalam Sudhakaran.
During that period, he became the Chairman of the committee on Welfare of Backward class communities.
In 2016, he was again re-elected from the same constituency with a bigger margin of 25,460 votes, defeating Congress candidate K.K. Shaju.
In the 2019 Parliament election, he lost to Congress candidate and sitting MP Kodikkunnil Suresh from Mavelikara Loksabha constituency with a bigger margin of 61,138 votes.[7]. In the 2021 Kerala legislative assembly elections he was re-elected again from the Adoor constituency by defeating the congress candidate M G Kannan with a margin of 2919 votes.[3][4]