Kerala is an Indian state, where federal legislative power is vested in the unicameral Kerala Legislative Assembly. The multilateral system has, since 1956, been dominated by the several pre-poll and post-poll alliances.
The judiciary of Kerala is independent of the executive and the legislature, while it is common for leading members of the executive (Kerala Council of Ministers) to be members of the legislature as well. The political system is laid out in the Constitution of India (1950).
Legislative Assembly has a membership of 140, where all 140 are elected. Kerala has 20 seats in the Lok Sabha (Indian Lower House) and nine seats in the Rajya Sabha (the Council of States). Elections are also held to choose representatives to the civic bodies at various levels within Kerala.
Political parties
Alliances Sl NoAlliance NameFlagCurrent Status1United Democratic Front (UDF)2Left Democratic Front (LDF)3National Democratic Alliance ( NDA ) None
National parties Sl NoParty nameSymbolAllianceCurrent Status1Indian National CongressUDF 2Communist Party of India (Marxist)LDF3Bharatiya Janata PartyNDA None
Recognised State Parties Sr NoParty nameSymbolAlliance1Communist Party of India (CPI)Left Democratic Front2Kerala Congress (M)3Indian Socialist Janata Dal4Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)5Indian Union Muslim LeagueUnited Democratic Front6Revolutionary Socialist Party7Kerala Congress
Electoral history
Results for the Kerala Legislative Assembly (from 1957) have been:
(Source)
MandateSeats securedRuling Coalition(s)CPI+INC+195765 43Menon, A. Shreedhara. Kerala Charithram. Kottayam: DC Books, pp. 367-369CPI+1960 2995INC+ MandateSeats securedRuling Coalition(s)CPI(M)INC+1965 4036 No Government Formed1967117 9CPI(M)+ MandateSeats securedRuling Coalition(s)CPI(M)+CPIINC1970 291630CPI+INC1977 292338CPI+INC MandateSeats securedRuling CoalitionMajority LDF UDF Others198093461 LDF471982 6377 0 UDF141987 78 611 LDF17 1991 48 90 2 UDF40 1996 80 59 1 LDF21 2001 40 99 1 UDF59 2006 98 42 0 LDF56 2011 68 72 0 UDF04 2016 91 47 2 LDF44 2021 99 41 0 LDF 58 2026 35 102 3 UDF87
Current administrative structure by alliance Current administrative structure by alliance in Kerala National Constituencies TotalLDFUDF Others Lok Sabha constituencies201181 State Constituencies TotalLDFUDF Others Legislative assembly constituencies140351023 Local self-government body Total LDF UDF OthersMunicipal Corporations 6141District Panchayats 14 7 7 0Municipalities8730552Block Panchayats 15271810Grama Panchayats94136755024
Popular vote
1957 Assembly elections2021 Assembly electionsPartiesPopular vote %PartiesPopular vote %Indian National Congress (INC)37.84Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM)25.4Communist Party of India (CPI)35.28Indian National Congress (INC)25.1Praja Socialist Party (PSP)10.76Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)15.50Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP)3.22Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)8.3Communist Party of India (CPI)7.6Kerala Congress (Mani) (KCM)3.3Kerala Congress (KEC)2.7
Ideologies
Left-wing/centre-left politics The general socio-political thought and behavior of the Keralite population inclines strongly toward left-wing and center-left groups, as such, communist (Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist)) parties have made strong inroads across the state for decades.Snapshots – India's final voting day BBC News In fact, Kerala is the first autonomous polity in Asia and only second in the world to have democratically elected a fully communist-led (Communist Party of India) government into power, with the first-ever being San Marino, a microstate enclaved by Italy.
Northern Kerala, particularly the districts of Kannur Kozhikode Palakkad, is generally considered the heartland of communist support. The districts of Kollam and Alappuzha also generally inclined towards left-wing or center-left parties, even though the United Democratic Front have won elections from the constituencies of these districts several times.
Some parties like Communist Marxist Party, Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India also represent left-wing politics in the state.
Congress politics The Indian National Congress leads the United Democratic Front pre-poll alliance in Kerala. The alliance was created by the Congress (then known as Congress-Indira) party leader K. Karunakaran in 1978.Who was K Karunakaran? – NDTV Since the 1980s, it has sustained itself as the front to take on the Communist Party of India Marxist-led Left Democratic Front.
The alliance first came into power in Kerala in 1981 under K. Karunakaran. It led the Kerala government in 1981–82 (Karunakaran), 1982–87 (Karunakaran), 1991–96 (Karunakaran and A. K. Antony), 2001–06 (Antony and Oommen Chandy) and 2011–16 (Chandy).
The party has strong bases in Ernakulam and Kottayam regions of central Kerala.
The Nationalist Congress Party- Sharadchandra Pawar and Congress (S) are other parties which holds the Congress politics. Both of them were split from Indian National Congress, and now form allies of LDF. The Kerala Congress factions also have their origin in a split which occurred in Indian National Congress in the year 1964. DIC(K) was another party formed by raising Congress politics in Kerala, but was later dissolved.
Political underrepresentation of Ezhava community
Despite constituting around 24% of Kerala's population, the Ezhava community has been described as under-represented in both the LDF and the UDF. In the LDF ministries, Ezhavas have held 5 ministerial positions, while the Nair community, which comprises about 12% of the state's population, has held 7 ministerial posts. Within the UDF, representation concerns have also been raised. There is no OBC representation in the top leadership of the Congress Except Adoor Prakash in Kerala at present. Of the 14 District Congress Committees (DCCs) in Kerala, only 4 have presidents from the Ezhava community. Among the state's 14 Congress MPs, only 2 belong to the community, while only 9 of the party's 63 MLAs represents the Ezhavas. Additionally, none of the three newly appointed working presidents of the KPCC are from the community.
Communal politics Indian Union Muslim League is a major member of the United Democratic Front. Indian Union Muslim League first gained a ministry in Kerala Government as part of a Communist Party of India Marxist-led alliance in the late 1960s. The party later switched fronts and formed an alliance with the Congress. It later became a chief constituent in a succession of Indian National Congress-lead ministries.
The party has strong bases in Malappuram District in central Kerala. The party is also strong in the northern belts of Kasaragod district and the southern parts of Kozhikode district in Northern Kerala.
Kerala Congress, which has several factions in United Democratic Front and Left Democratic Front, has strong influence in central Kerala. The various Kerala Congress factions are primarily patronized by the Syrian Christian community, mostly in areas like Kottayam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Muvattupuzha.
Right-wing politics Right-wing politics in Kerala is represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP got their first seat in the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 2016. The BJP failed to win a seat in the 2021 elections, but won 1 seat in the 2024 Indian general election in Kerala and 3 seats in the 2026 Legislative Assembly elections.
Coalition politics
The current politics in Kerala is largely dominated by two pre-poll alliances
Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF)
The two alliances have been alternatively voted to power in Kerala since 1980 till 2021 (from the First E. K. Nayanar ministry and until First Pinarayi Vijayan ministry).
The pre-poll political alliances of Kerala have stabilized strongly in such a manner that, with rare exceptions, most of the coalition partners stick their loyalty to the respective alliances (Left Democratic Front or United Democratic Front). As a result of this, ever since 1979, the power has been clearly alternating between the two alliances without any exceptions, until this spell was broken in the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election.
However, till then the political scenario in Kerala (1957–1980) was characterized by continually shifting alliances, party mergers and splits, factionalism within the coalitions and within political parties, and the formation of a numerous splinter groups. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, two main pre-poll political alliances were formed: the Left Democratic Front, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India and the United Democratic Front, led by the Indian National Congress.
Since the early 1980s these two pre-poll political alliances have alternated in government with neither able to gain re-election for a second term. Clashes between supporters of the two coalitions have occurred periodically. Both have accused the other of corruption, promoting or condoning political violence, and "the general breakdown of law and order" during their periods in government. MandateMinistry No.Ruling Coalition Name202123LDF 2016 22LDF201121UDF200620LDF200119UDF18199617LDF199116UDF15198714LDF198213UDF19801211LDF197710—987197061967541965No ministry formed19603—219571
Student politics Student politics in Kerala is highly active and influential, unlike in many other Indian states where it has declined. Most student organizations are linked to major political parties and there are student political alliances as well, such as the United Democratic Students Front (UDSF), which includes KSU and MSF.
Below is the list of active students parties in Kerala: + Student Political Parties in Kerala Name of the Student Organization Year of Establishment Political Affiliation Students' Federation of India (SFI) 1970 Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPI(M) Kerala Students Union (KSU) 1957 Indian National Congress – INC Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) 1949 (Nationally) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – RSS / Bharatiya Janata Party – BJP All India Students Federation (AISF) 1936 (Nationally) Communist Party of India – CPI Muslim Students Federation (MSF) 1937 Indian Union Muslim League – IUML Fraternity Movement 2011 Welfare Party of India /
2021 Assembly elections
LDF Seats UDF SeatsCPI(M)62INC21CPI17IUML15LDF Independent5KEC2KC(M)5KC(J)1JD(S)2RMPI1NCP2UDF Independent1C(S)1RSP0KC(B)1CMP0NSC1INL1JKC1LJD1INL0LDF99UDF41 PartiesPopular voteSeatsVotes%CandidatesWonCommunist Party of India Marxist (CPIM)5,288,502 25.47762Indian National Congress (INC)5,233,42925.19321Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)2,354,468 11.31130Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)1,723,5938.32515Communist Party of India (CPI)1,579,235 7.62317Kerala Congress (Mani) (KCM)684,363 3.3125Kerala Congress (KEC)554,115 2.7102
See also
Political parties in Kerala Communist Party of India (Marxist) – Kerala Communism in India
References
Further reading