The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) swept back into power in Kerala on Monday after a decade-long hiatus, riding a larger-than-expected anti-incumbency wave against the Pinarayi Vijayan government. The UDF won 102 seats in the 140-member legislative assembly, a stunning victory that surprised even the winners themselves. The major factor contributing to the crushing defeat of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is widely considered to be public anger directed at what rivals described as Vijayan's 'despotic' tendencies, especially after the LDF won the 2021 assembly election.
BJP Achieves Breakthrough
At the same time, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) achieved a breakthrough by winning three seats. The UDF had displayed a clear edge over the LDF in the 2025 local body elections, which fanned hope among its cadres. Yet, the LDF was able to build a narrative that created the impression of a close contest between the two fronts. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) tried to brand the UDF as a den of extremist communal elements and pointed to the support of Jamaat-e-Islami and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) for the UDF as proof. By doing this, Vijayan cosied up to majority community organisations and leaders with an eye on the Hindu vote. But the UDF's resounding victory across regions rendered narratives around minority appeasement almost dead stock. Attempts to influence the Nair and Ezhava communities by placating the Nair Service Society (NSS) and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) leaderships again proved futile.
Congress's Weak Organisation Overcome by United Front
The Congress party, which has a very loose and weak organisational structure in Kerala, still won 63 seats, meaning public support swayed in its favour across castes and communities. Congress had just 21 MLAs in the outgoing assembly. The UDF's comeback was also made possible by several of its politicians. V. D. Satheesan led the UDF from the front and even vowed he would go into political exile if the UDF failed to win this election. He even said the UDF would return to government with 100 seats, his public remarks boosting morale within Congress's weak organisational machine. The UDF, in fact, worked as a single bloc: the Indian Union Muslim League won 22 seats and the Kerala Congress seven, and none of its allies drew a blank.
CPM Humiliated by Former Functionaries
The CPM was also humiliated by the victories of three former party functionaries: V. Kunhikrishnan won as a UDF-backed Independent in Payyannur in Kannur, a red citadel; T. K. Govindan defeated CPM state secretary M. V. Govindan's wife, P. K. Syamala, in Thaliparamba, Kannur; and former minister G. Sudhakaran was victorious as a UDF-supported Independent in Ambalapuzha. Other than the CPI and RJD, which won eight and one seat respectively, none of the other seven LDF coalition partners won a seat this time. Most of the ministers in Pinarayi Vijayan's cabinet also failed to be re-elected.
BJP's Strategy Pays Off
For the BJP, the 2026 Kerala election was a much-awaited breakthrough. Party state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrested back Nemom from education minister V. Sivankutty, former Union minister V. Muraleedharan won Kazhakuttom after a tight fight with CPM veteran Kadakampally Surendran, and B. B. Gopakumar won a third seat for the BJP in Chathannur, in Kollam district. The saffron party's three victories mean that Chandrasekhar's strategy of stressing development over politics throughout the campaign worked.
