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Kerala’s Coalition Chronicles

Kerala, an Indian state, vests its legislative power in the unicameral Kerala Legislative Assembly, dominated by various pre-poll and post-poll alliances since 1956. The judiciary operates independently from the executive and legislature, though leading members of the executive (Kerala Council of Ministers) often serve in the legislature. The political structure is defined by India’s 1950 Constitution.

The Legislative Assembly has 141 members, with 140 elected and one nominated from the Anglo-Indian community. Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha (Lower House) seats and 9 Rajya Sabha (Council of States) seats. Elections also occur for representatives to various local civic bodies.

Current Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan(CPM)

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Leader of Opposition: V D Satheesan (INC)

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Kerala Congress (Mani): K M Mani

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Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar): Sharadchandra Pawar

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Kerala Congress (B): K B Ganesh Kumar

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Congress (Secular): Kadannappalli Ramachandran

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Indian Union Muslim League: K M Kader Mohideen

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Kerala Congress: P J Joseph

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Left-wing/Center-left Politics
Kerala’s socio-political landscape leans strongly toward left-wing and center-left ideologies. Communist parties, such as the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), have established deep roots across the state for decades. Kerala was the first autonomous polity in Asia and the second in the world, after San Marino, to democratically elect a fully communist-led government, with the CPI leading the administration.

Northern Kerala, especially Kannur and Palakkad districts, is considered the stronghold of communist support. Kollam and Alappuzha districts also generally favor left-wing or center-left parties, though the United Democratic Front (UDF) has won elections in these areas multiple times. Other left-wing parties in the state include the Communist Marxist Party, Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy, and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India.

Congress Politics
The Indian National Congress (INC) leads the United Democratic Front (UDF), a pre-poll alliance in Kerala. This alliance, formed by Congress leader K. Karunakaran in 1978, has been a primary challenger to the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) since the 1980s. The UDF first came to power in Kerala in 1981 under Karunakaran and has since led the state government in multiple terms, including 1981-82, 1982-87, 1991-96, 2001-06, and 2011-16.

The INC has a strong base in the Ernakulam and Kottayam regions of central Kerala. Other parties, such as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress (S), split from the INC and are now allied with the LDF. The Kerala Congress factions, originating from a 1964 split in the INC, are also influential, particularly in central Kerala.

Communitarian Politics
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is a major member of the UDF. Initially part of a CPI(M)-led alliance in the late 1960s, the IUML later allied with the INC and became a key player in successive Congress-led ministries. The party has a strong presence in the Malappuram district, northern Kasaragod, and southern Kozhikode districts.

Kerala Congress, with its various factions in both the UDF and LDF, holds significant influence in central Kerala, particularly among the Syrian Christian community in areas like Kottayam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, and Muvattupuzha.

Right-wing Politics
Right-wing politics in Kerala is represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won its first seat in the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 2016. However, the BJP did not secure any seats in the 2021 elections.

Political Parties in Kerala:

Kerala’s politics is dominated by two main pre-poll alliances: the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Since the early 1980s, these alliances have alternated in power, with the LDF and UDF taking turns in governing the state. This pattern persisted until it was broken in the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election.

Before 1980, Kerala’s political landscape (1957-1980) was marked by shifting alliances, party mergers, splits, and factionalism. However, by the late 1970s and early 1980s, the LDF and UDF alliances solidified, leading to a stable two-coalition system. Despite accusations of corruption and political violence between the two sides, these alliances have remained largely loyal to their respective coalitions, with few exceptions.