Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 | Left's lone bastion slips away as CPI(M) suffers one of the biggest defeats

Anti-incumbency against ten year long rule led by Pinarayi Vijayan in two consecutive terms as well as organisational issues of the party are strongly reflecting in the trends.

Thiruvananthapuram: As the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) is suffering one of the biggest defeats in the Assembly polls in Kerala, the communist party is also losing the lone state where it is in power.

Anti-incumbency against ten year long rule led by Pinarayi Vijayan in two consecutive terms as well as organisational issues of the party are strongly reflecting in the results.

While more than 50 percent of the counting is over Congress-led UDF has maintained its lead in around 100 seats, while LDF is leading in 38 seats and NDA in two seats.

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The LDF, which had retained power in Kerala in 2021 with 99 seats by mainly cashing in on Pinarayi's popularity, seems to be now suffering the biggest ever blow due to an anti-Pinarayi factor.

The anti-incumbency against the LDF government also reflected in the 2025 local body elections. Even as the Pinarayi government tried to counter it with a welfare measure targeting women and youth as well as massive public-relation exercise, those seem to have made little impact.

While Pinarayi Vijayan himself is facing a tight fight from a Youth Congress leader V P Abdul Rasheed, three rebel candidates of the party, T K Govindan at Taliparamba, V Kunhikrishnan at Payyanur and G Sudhakaran at Ambalappuzha, are also maintaining clear lead in CPI(M) strongholds.

The Congress-led UDF seems to have gained by ensuring that the infightings in the party do not come out in the open till the polling. Various guarantees of the UDF like free bus travel for women in state transport buses seem to have helped the UDF.

While the moves by the BJP government at the centre to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act hit the prospects of BJP in wooing Christian vote banks, UDF got the backing of both Christian and Muslim votes.

Indian Union Muslim League, the second largest party in the UDF, is putting up a good show by leading in 22 out of the 26 seats, including a woman candidate Fathima Thahiliya

UDF coalition partner Kerala Congress (Joseph)is also leading in seven out of the eight seats, while LDF partner Kerala Congress (Mani) is suffering a major embarrassment almost all the 12 candidates, including Rajya Sabha MP Jose K Mani, is trailing.