Congress overcomes organizational weakness with united frontThe Congress-led UDF reentered the Kerala government on Monday after a 10-year hiatus, setting off a larger-than-expected anti-incumbency wave across the state. Pinarayi Vijayan government. The UDF won 102 seats in the 140-member Legislative Assembly. The magnitude of the victory surprised even the victors. The main factor that led to the crushing of the LDF is believed to be public anger over what rivals describe as Pinarayi Vijayan’s “authoritarian” tendencies, especially since the LDF won the 2021 parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, the BJP made a breakthrough, winning three seats. The UDF has shown a clear advantage over the LDF in the 2025 local body elections, giving hope to its cadre. However, LDF was able to construct a narrative that gave the impression that LDF and UDF were locked in fierce competition. The CPM has sought to label the UDF as a den of extremist communal elements, pointing to Jamat-e-Islami and SDPI’s support for the UDF as evidence.
.
By doing so, Vijayan maintained close relations with the leaders of most community organizations with an eye on a majority Hindu vote. But the United Democratic Front’s resounding victories across districts have brought the minority appeasement narrative to a near standstill. Attempts to influence the Nair and Ezhava communities by appeasing the NSS and SNDP leadership once again proved futile. In a state where the organizational structure of Kerala is very loose and weak, the Congress still won 63 seats, which meant that public support across castes and communities was tilted in its favour. Congress has only 21 members in the outgoing parliament.ALSO READ | No government: Kerala pendulum swings away from LDF after a decadeThe CPM was also humiliated by the victories of three former party members – V Kunhikrishnan, who won in Kannur’s Red Castle Payyannur as a UDF-backed independent; TK Govindan, who defeated CPM state secretary MV Govindan’s wife PK Syamala in Kannur’s Thaliparamba; and former minister G Sudhakaran, who won in Ambalapuzha as a UDF-backed independent.
.
Except for CPI and RJD which won eight and one seat respectively, none of the other seven LDF alliance partners won a seat this time. Most of the ministers in Pinarayi Vijayan’s cabinet also failed to be re-elected. The UDF’s comeback was also facilitated by several of its politicians. VD Satheesan leads the UDF from the front and has even vowed to go into political exile if the UDF fails to win this election. He even said that the UDF would return to the government with 100 seats, his public remarks boosting morale within the Congress’s weak organizational machinery. In fact, the UDF operated as a single bloc: the Indian Union-Muslim League won 22 seats, the Kerala Congress seven seats, and none of its allies received a blank. For the BJP, Kerala 2026 is a much-awaited breakthrough. Party state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrested Nemom from Education Minister V Sivankutty, while former Union Minister V Muraleedharan met with CPM veteran Kadakampally Surendran won Kazakuttom after a tough fight, while BB Gopakumar won the BJP’s third seat in Chattanur in Kollon district. The three victories for the saffron party mean that Chandrasekhar’s strategy of emphasizing development over politics throughout the campaign is working.
