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Kerala has shifted to poll mode, with the local body elections, slated for December 9 and 11, being played out as a teaser to the high-stakes battle for the state assembly due in March–April 2026.
Thiruvananthapuram: True to its bipolar tradition, the principal contest in both the civic and state assembly polls is between the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF. The BJP, though still lagging far behind the two coalitions, is expected to make incremental gains.
As a well-knit and well-managed front that has been in power for nearly a decade, the LDF, steered by CPI(M) strongman and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has mustered its full organisational apparatus and resources. The recent CPI(M)–CPI stand-off over the PM SHRI Schools programme, which frayed the front’s image a bit, has since been resolved.
The government has also rolled out a slew of sops ahead of the poll, including an increase in the social security payout that reaches thousands of homes.
The Congress, which leads the UDF, is no match for its principal rival when it comes to the micro-management of elections — a factor that counts a lot in local body polls. Still, the party, along with its principal ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), has exuded confidence about putting up a good show. The IUML remains a force to reckon with in the state’s northern districts in the Malabar region.
Rubbishing the LDF’s political grandstanding, UDF leaders claim that public apathy towards governance is palpable and that people have been silently waiting for an opportunity to retaliate.
The recent Sabarimala temple gold scandal is among the issues being flagged by the UDF in its campaign. Adding grist to its high-pitched electioneering, the Special Investigating Team recently arrested former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president N. Vasu, a confidant of the CPI(M).
Congress leaders hold that elections cannot be won by organisational advantage alone. Despite the CPI(M)’s organisational prowess and command over resources, the UDF had put up a sterling performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, grabbing 18 of the 20 seats.
Though the BJP has been steadily increasing its vote share over the past few years, the party has found it tough to convert incremental growth into seats. It sprang a surprise when its nominee Suresh Gopi, now a minister of state at the Centre, annexed the Thrissur seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls after drawing a blank in the 2021 Assembly elections.
Also Read: How Long Will Congress Tolerate Tharoor? The Question That Troubles Party Ranks
The party had performed reasonably well in the last local body polls too, emerging as the main opposition in the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation and gaining control of the Palakkad Municipal Council. This time too, the BJP’s prime target is Thiruvananthapuram city, where the leadership has selected candidates with winnability as the key criterion. Former DGP R. Sreelekha is among the BJP’s contestants in the city. This round of elections is also a major test of the leadership of former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who took over as the state president about a year ago.
In the 2020 civic polls, the LDF had a clear upper hand across the state. That served as a springboard for the party to mount its 2021 Assembly campaign, which saw it retaining power for a second consecutive term — thereby resetting the state’s long record of alternating between the UDF and the LDF.
In Kerala’s supercharged political landscape, macro themes often get pitched in civic elections along with local issues such as poor civic amenities, flaws in service delivery, the stray dog menace, and the pathetic state of garbage management.
Going to polls are 23,575 wards spread across 941 gram panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 86 municipalities, and six municipal corporations.
Significantly, 50 per cent of the seats in local bodies are reserved for women through a 2009 legislation by the then LDF government, giving a pivotal role to women in the grassroots democratic and development process.
As elected institutions mandated with sustainable and inclusive development, local bodies manage a substantial portion of public finances and deliver a host of services to citizens. Grassroots-level panchayat ward members and municipal councillors maintain a more direct connection with the local community than MLAs and MPs. Therefore, gaining control of local bodies is crucial for major political players.
Organisationally, this also serves as a warm-up season for political parties — especially with the Assembly polls just a few months away.
