Year-End: Kerala hits poll button; local poll queers LDF’s hat-trick pitch

X: @the_news_21

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala hit poll button in 2025, with the mid-December local body polls setting the tempo for the high-stakes assembly elections due in early 2026.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by two-time Chief Minister and CPI(M) stalwart Pinarayi Vijayan suffered a huge reversal in the multi-tier local body polls, denting its prospects of pulling off a third consecutive win in the assembly elections due in early 2026.The principal opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) put up a strong performance across the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made a spectacular win in the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation (TMC), besides making incremental gains in parts of the state. Still, the total percentage votes it secured fell from what it received in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, signalling that the party may end up far behind the UDF and the LDF in the assembly elections.

Sabarimala, actor assault case grab headlines
The issues that grabbed headlines the most during the year ranged from the Sabarimala temple gold scam to a serial sexual abuse case setting the high-profile Congress legislator Rahul Mamkoottathil on the run for several days to evade arrest.

Mollywood actor Dileep got reprieve in the actor abduction-and-sexual assault case, which dragged on for seven years. The ruling, however, left a big question mark whether the victim received justice.

The trial court acquitted Dileep on the ground that the prosecution failed to prove the conspiracy charge against him. The verdict, however, triggered widespread public resentment, urging the state to prefer an appeal in the higher court. Six other accused in the case were convicted.

The Sabarimala gold scandal, which erupted into a major controversy in the year, led to the arrest of two former presidents of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), A Padmakumar and K Vasu, both appointees of the LDF regime and both closely associated with the CPI (M). Several former officials of TDB were also taken into custody as part of the SIT probe, monitored by the Kerala High Court.

Also Read: Civic Polls Drubbing Dims LDF’s Hat-trick Dream in Kerala

Digital inclusion, extreme poverty eradication
Amid political clamours and slugfests , Kerala crossed a couple of milestones in the year, becoming the first state to achieve total digital inclusion and eradicate extreme poverty. At the same time, cracks in the state’s widely appreciated public health architecture got exposed, making a compelling for proper upgradation of the system to ensure that it meets the present and future demands.

Achuthanandan, the comrade deeply mourned by Keralites
Kerala’s communist movement lost one of its prime movers at the passing of former chief minister and CPI (M)’s founder-leader V S Achuthanandan in July 2025.

Achuthandan stood out as India’s first communist leader to rise to higher positions from working class rank. He led hard struggles, not only the against feudal-capitalist order in the formative phase of his political activism but also the revisionist tendencies in his own movement in later years.

Tharoor the news maker
Four-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor turned out to be one of a much- followed news-makers of the year from Kerala. Tharoor frequently hit national headlines by his sharp cuts and thrusts at the Congress leadership, not even sparing the first family.

Governor-Govt stand off
The state was witness to a government-governor stand-off over appointment of vice-chancellors to some of the universities.
In previous years, the government had a long-running feud with governor Arif Mohamed Khan. The transfer of Khan as Bihar governor came as a little relief to the government. But his successor, Rajendra Arlekar, despite being suave and soft-spoken, proved to be tougher, especially in selection of vice-chancellors of universities in his capacity as chancellor.

Also, the display of Bharatamba image at the official functions in the Lok Bhavan (then Raj Bhavan) sparked an unpleasant tiff. In one instance, education minister V Sivankutty, a CPI (M) nominee, even walked out of a function, alleging the Bharatamba image is an RSS emblem, not a national symbol. However, towards the end of the year, by both sides reach an agreement in appointing VCs of two universities, after the tangle reaching up to the apex court.

Keralites to miss actor-script writer Sreenivasan
Malayalam filmdom lost one of its exceptionally brilliant talents at the death of actor, screen writer and director Sreenivasan.
A home-grown multi-faceted performer, a sharp sense of humour was his forte. Many of the characters he essayed became hugely popular that and their one-liners have become part of the contemporary Malayalam idiom.

Pointers from local polls
Despite the assertiveness of its campaign, the LDF led by its vanguard CPI (M), suffered heavy losses across the state in the local polls. A strong but silent anti-incumbency mood worked against the ruling front. It was caught unawares by the political churning as leadership had no clue of the deep-set disenchantment until the results started trickling in.

Cashing in on the widespread resentment, the UDF emerged a clear winner. A strong consolidation in favour of the Congress and its UDF partners in the Muslim and Christian strongholds was a key factor that contributed to the coalition’s impressive performance.

Projections based on local polls outcome suggest that the UDF could claim a minimum of 80 seats in the 140-member assembly, if the trend line sustains.

The Congress, as the lead partner Congress, however, has to keep the tempo and craft an imaginative campaign packed with real stuff, devoid of hollow verbiage, as it did in other states. Congress in the state is beset with faction pulls, so much so that it will be, in all probability, compelled to go to polls without projecting a chief ministerial face.

 Though opposition leader V D Sathseesan is a potential candidate against other aspirants like Ramesh Chennithala, the party is unlikely to make an advance choice, fearing a factional flare-up.

A victory in Kerala is also vital for the Congress’s national leadership at a time when the party stands humiliated by back-to-back electoral reverses. It is also significant that the Congress’s first family has a direct connect with the state, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra being the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad constituency, vacated by Rahul Gandhi after his second win from the state in 2024.

The year ahead
Looking ahead, it would be imprudent to think that Kerala in 2026 would see fundamental policy changes, even if the state makes a political shift.

The LDF regime, shedding the Marxian economic paradigm, has pro-actively pursued private investment. In the event of the UDF wresting power, the incoming government would only carry forward these policies more vigorously.

However, the centre-state relationship could become more corrosive under a Congress-led regime, going by the hostility of the party’s central leadership towards the Narendra Modi government in New Delhi.

Will left lose its sole turf?
Loss of power in Kerala could be devastating for the Indian Left as the state has remained its sole outpost in the prevailing Indian political landscape.

Such a scenario could also trigger an implosion in the CPI (M) and the CPI. In the last 10 years, power has provided a lever for the leadership of both the parties to manage internal contradictions. Once they lose power, the organisational dynamics would go out of control, as has happened in West Bengal.

But his successor, Rajendra Arlekar, despite being suave and soft-spoken, proved to be tougher, especially in selection of vice-chancellors of universities in his capacity as chancellor.
Also, the display of Bharatamba image at the official functions in the Lok Bhavan (then Raj Bhavan) sparked an unpleasant tiff.

In one instance, education minister V Sivankutty, a CPI (M) nominee, even walked out of a function, alleging the Bharatamba image is an RSS emblem, not a national symbol.
However, towards the end of the year, by both sides reach an agreement in appointing VCs of two universities, after the tangle reaching up to the apex court.

Pointers from local polls
despite the assertiveness of its campaign, the LDF led by its vanguard CPI (M), suffered heavy losses across the state in the local polls. A strong but silent anti-incumbency mood worked against the ruling front. It was caught unawares by the political churning as leadership had no clue of the deep-set disenchantment until the results started trickling in.

Projections based on local polls outcome suggest that the UDF could claim a minimum of 80 seats in the 140-member assembly, if the trend line sustains.

The Congress, as the lead partner Congress, however, has to keep the tempo and craft an imaginative campaign packed with real stuff, devoid of hollow verbiage, as it did in other states.
Congress in the state is beset with faction pulls, so much so that it will be, in all probability, compelled to go to polls without projecting a chief ministerial face.

Though opposition leader V D Sathseesan is a potential candidate against other aspirants like Ramesh Chennithala, the party is unlikely to make an advance choice, fearing a factional flare-up.

A victory in Kerala is also vital for the Congress’s national leadership at a time when the party stands humiliated by back-to-back electoral reverses. It is also significant that the Congress’s first family has a direct connect with the state, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra being the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad constituency, vacated by Rahul Gandhi after his second win from the state in 2024.

The year ahead
Looking ahead, it would be imprudent to think that Kerala in 2026 would see fundamental policy changes, even if the state makes a political shift.

Such a scenario could also trigger an implosion in the CPI (M) and the CPI. In the last 10 years, power has provided a lever for the leadership of both the parties to manage internal contradictions. Once they lose power, the organisational dynamics would go out of control, as has happened in West Bengal.