Kerala polls: LDF-UDF duel turns triangular as BJP-NDA eyes bigger role

Amid the tightly fought election between the LDF and the UDF, the chances of the NDA emerging as a decisive force could not be ruled out as the saffron party has been improving its performance in some of the constituencies.

Thiruvananthapuram: As Kerala goes to the Assembly polls on April 9, unlike the bipolar politics involving the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) that the state has been witnessing so far, this time the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has emerged as a key force.

Amid the tightly fought election between the LDF and the UDF, the chances of the NDA emerging as a decisive force could not be ruled out as the saffron party has been improving its performance election after election in some of the 140 assembly constituencies in Kerala.

While the UDF is making all out efforts to make a comeback after ten long years, the LDF is trying for a hattrick by highlighting its achievements. For the CPI(M), this election is more crucial as Kerala is the lone state where the party is now in power.

Even as the general trend in Kerala used to be LDF and UDF coming to power alternately after every five years, last assembly polls in 2021 witnessed the LDF winning the polls for a second consecutive term by taking advantage of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's leadership as well in fights within the Congress.

Vijayan continues to be the undisputed leader of the LDF this time too, whereas the UDF is reeling under the pressure of top heavy leadership with opposition leader V D Satheesan, his predecessor Ramesh Chennithala and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal at the helm.

Even as technocrat-turned-politician Rajeev Chandrasekhar managed to gain control over BJP's Kerala unit within one year of his appointment as the party state president, the party election icon is Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Viksit Bharat campaign.

Chandrasekhar himself will be taking up the task of winning back BJP's maiden seat in the state, Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram, which the party won in 2016 but lost in 2021. 

The LDF government has been carrying out extensive public relations, even by engaging celebrities like actor Mohanlal, to project its development and welfare initiatives and thereby trying to defuse the anti-incumbency factor that was quite evident in the local body polls held a few months back.

Both the UDF and the NDA are trying to cash-in on the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple women entry issue as well as the temple gold heist.

The LDF is on the defensive as it earlier took a progressive stand and backed the demand to lift the ban on entry of women in the 10-50 age group to the hill shrine, whereas it has now made a u-turn by maintaining that beliefs and customs need to be protected.

Similarly, a couple of CPM leaders, including a former MLA, were arrested in the temple gold heist. 

While the LDF and NDA are way ahead in candidate selection, the candidate selection of UDF, especially Congress, still seems to be caught up in differences of some senior leaders like K Sudhakaran MP, who  was insisting on contesting the assembly polls despite a general consensus that sitting MPs should keep off from the assembly election fray.

After the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls, the total voters of Kerala was 2.69 crore, which includes 1.38 crore female, 1.31 males, 277 third-gender.