Kerala Legislative Assembly

കേരള നിയമസഭ
16th Kerala Assembly
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
unicameral
Term limits
5 Year
History
Preceded by 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly
Leadership
Speaker
Vacant
Deputy Speaker
Vacant
Chief Minister
(Leader of the House)
Vacant
Leader of the Opposition
Vacant
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Vacant
Structure
Seats 140
Political groups
Government (102)
  UDF (102)
  •   INC (63)
  •   IUML (22)
  •   KEC (7)
  •   RSP (3)
  •   KC(J) (1)
  •   CMP (1)
  •   RMPI (1)
  •   Independent (4)

Official Opposition (35)

  LDF (35)
  •   CPI(M) (26)
  •   CPI (8)
  •   RJD (1)

Other Opposition (3)

  •   BJP (3)
Elections
Voting system
First past the post
Last election
9 April 2026
Next election
2031
Meeting place
Niyamasabha Mandiram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Website
www.niyamasabha.org

Kerala's major political parties are aligned under two coalitions, namely the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) since the late 1970s. Kerala was the first Indian state to have coalition government as early as 1961 .[1]

Pre-poll alliances

State-level alliances

  • Left Democratic Front[2]

The Left Democratic Front (LDF), also known as Left Front (Kerala), is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016.[3] It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately for the last four decades.[4] LDF has won the elections to the State Legislature of Kerala in the years 1980,[5] 1987,[6] 1996,[7] 2006,[8] 2016[9] and had a historic re-election in 2021[10] where an incumbent government was re-elected for first time in 40 years.[11] LDF has won 6 out of 10 elections since the formation of the alliance in 1980. The alliance consists of CPI(M), CPI and various smaller parties.[12]

LDF has been in power in the State Legislature of Kerala under E. K. Nayanar (1980–1981, 1987–1991, 1996–2001),[13] V. S. Achuthanandan (2006–2011),[14] Pinarayi Vijayan (2016–current).[15] E. K. Nayanar served as the Chief Minister of Kerala for 11 years and later became the longest serving Chief Minister of Kerala.[16]

The alliance led by Pinarayi Vijayan returned to power in 2016 Assembly Election winning 91 out of 140 seats and further increasing its tally to 99 seats in the 2021 Assembly Election. Pinarayi Vijayan became the first Chief minister of Kerala to be re-elected after completing a full term (five years) in office after a historic election in 2021 where an incumbent government was re-elected for the first time in 40 years.[17]

  • United Democratic Front[18]

The United Democratic Front (UDF) is the Indian National Congress-led alliance of centre to centre-right political parties in the Indian state of Kerala.[19] It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately since 1980 E. K. Nayanar ministry.[20]

United Democratic Front was created by the Indian National Congress (then known as Congress-Indira) party leader K. Karunakaran in 1979, as a successor to the existing Congress-led alliance.[21] The alliance first came to power in 1981 (K. Karunakaran ministry) and has won elections to the state legislature of Kerala in the years 1982 (Karunakaran ministry),[22] 1991 (Karunakaran and A. K. Antony ministries),[23] 2001 (Antony and Oommen Chandy ministries),[24] and 2011 (Oommen Chandy ministry).[25] The alliance currently acts as the opposition in the state legislature of Kerala (after the 2021 legislative assembly election). United Democratic Front leaders V. D. Satheesan and Sunny Joseph currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President respectively.[26]

The alliance currently consists of Indian National Congress, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Jacob), Revolutionary Socialist Party and a variety of other smaller parties. The alliance follows big tent policy and includes a variety political parties.

  • National Democratic Alliance[27]

National-level alliances

  • INDIA(INC+)
  • NDA(BJP+)

National parties

Political party Abbr. Flag Electoral symbol Political position Founded Founder KL unit leader Alliance Seats
Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha Kerala Legislative Assembly
Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPIM Left-wing 7 November 1964 E. M. S. Namboodiripad M. V. Govindan LDF
1 / 20
4 / 9
61 / 120
Indian National Congress INC Centre to Centre-left 28 December 1885 Allan Octavian Hume Sunny Joseph UDF
14 / 20
1 / 9
20 / 140
Bharatiya Janata Party BJP Right to Far-right 6 April 1980 Atal Bihari Vajpayee Rajeev Chandrashekhar NDA
1 / 20
0 / 9
0 / 140
Aam Aadmi Party AAP Centre 26 November 2012 Arvind Kejriwal P. C. Cyriac N/A
0 / 20
0 / 9
0 / 140
Bahujan Samaj Party BSP Centre 14 April 1984 Kanshi Ram Advocate Pralhadan N/A
0 / 20
0 / 9
0 / 140

State parties

Party Abbr. Flag Election
symbol		 Political
position		 Ideology Founded Leader(s) Kerala Unit Leader Alliance Seats
Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha State
assemblies
Communist Party of India CPI Left-wing Communism
Marxism–Leninism
Anti-capitalism
Socialism
Secularism		 1925 D. Raja Binoy Viswam LDF
0 / 20
2 / 9
17 / 140
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) NCP-SCP Centre Indian nationalism
Secularism		 2024 Sharad Pawar PC Chacko LDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
2 / 140
Kerala Congress (M) KECM Centre-Right Welfare[28]
Democratic socialism[29]		 1979 Jose K. Mani Jose K. Mani LDF
1 / 20
1 / 9
5 / 140
Janata Dal (Secular) JDS Centre-left to left-wing Secularism 1999 H. D. Deve Gowda Mathew T. Thomas LDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
2 / 140
Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD Centre-left Socialism 1997 Lalu Prasad Yadav
Tejashwi Yadav		 Adv. John John LDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
Indian Union Muslim League IUML Centre-right[30] Muslim interests
Social conservatism		 1948 Hyderali Shihab Thangal Sadiq Ali Thangal UDF
2 / 20
1 / 9
15 / 140
Revolutionary Socialist Party RSP Far-left Communism
Marxism–Leninism[31]
Revolutionary socialism		 1940 Manoj Bhattacharya[32] A. A. Aziz UDF
1 / 20
0 / 9
0 / 140

Parties consisting of at least 1 member in the assembly

Party Abbr. Flag Political
position		 Ideology Founded Kerala Unit Leader Alliance Seats
Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha State
assemblies
Kerala Congress KEC Centre-Right Welfare 1964 P. J. Joseph UDF
1 / 20
0 / 9
2 / 140
Kerala Congress (B) KECB 1977 K. B. Ganesh Kumar LDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
Congress (Secular) CONS 1978 Kadannappalli Ramachandran LDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
Kerala Congress (Jacob) KECJ Centre-Right Secularism
Socialism
Democracy		 1993 Anoop Jacob UDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
Indian National League INL Secularism 1994 Ahamed Devarkovil LDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
National Secular Conference NSC 2011 V. Abdurahiman LDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
Revolutionary Marxist Party of India RMPI Left-Wing Communism
Marxism-Leninism		 2016 K. K. Rema UDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
Janadhipathya Kerala Congress JKC Centre-Left Socialism 2016 Dr. K. C. Joseph LDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
Revolutionary Socialist Party (Leninist) RSPL Far-Left Communism
Marxism–Leninism
Revolutionary socialism		 2016 Kovoor Kunjumon LDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
National Janata Dal NJD 2018 Adv John John UDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
0 / 140
Kerala Democratic Party KDP Centre-Left Democratic socialism
Liberalism		 2021 Mani C. Kappan UDF
0 / 20
0 / 9
1 / 140
Kerala Congress Democratic KCD Centre-Right Welfare 2024 Saji Manjakadambil NDA
0 / 20
0 / 9
0 / 140
All India Trinamool Congress AITC Secularism 2024 P. V. Anvar
0 / 20
0 / 9
0 / 140
AnnA DHRM Party Of India AnnA DHRM Party

Social Democracy
Through
Common man		 2020 Saji Kollam
0 / 20
0 / 9
0 / 140

See also

  • Communist Party of India (Marxist) – Kerala
  • Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee
  • Bharatiya Janata Party – Kerala
  • 2024 Indian general election in Kerala
  • 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election

References

  1. ^ Menon, A. Sreedhara (2007). A Survey of Kerala History. DC Books. ISBN 9788126415786.
  2. ^ "LDF wins 99 of 140 seats in Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan to be CM again". The News Minute. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  3. ^ "The Left returns in Kerala". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Election history of Kerala". CEO Kerala. Chief Election Officer, Kerala. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Victory of CPI-M-led LDF in Kerala elections manifests swing away from Congress(I)". India Today. 15 February 1980. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  6. ^ "It was a vote for secularism, democracy and progress: E.K. Nayanar". India Today. 15 April 1987. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Elections 1996: Marxists-led LDF dislodges Congress(I) and its allies". India Today. 31 May 1996. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Return of the warrior V. S. Achuthanandan". India Today. 10 April 2016. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Pinarayi Vijayan takes oath as Kerala Chief Minister Hailing from a poor toddy tapper's family, Vijayan, a first time Chief Minister, took the oath in Malayalam". Indian Express. 26 May 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Election results: Left creates history in Kerala". Times of India. 2 May 2021. %1$s Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help)
  11. ^ "How 'captain' Pinarayi Vijayan led LDF in Kerala, is set to break a decades-old record". The Print. 2 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Alliance Wise and Party Wise Kerala Election Results 2021 LIVE". First Post. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  13. ^ "KERALA NIYAMASABHA E.K.NAYANAR". stateofkerala.in. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Kerala Council of Ministers:2006–2011". www.keralaassembly.org. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Chief Ministers of kerala". kerala.gov.in. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  16. ^ "E.K.Nayanar". niyamasabha.org. Retrieved 20 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ^ "LDF shatters Kerala's 40-year record, Pinarayi Vijayan now the Marxist Helmsman". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  18. ^ "In Kerala, UDF workers lay siege to State, Central offices". The Hindu. 20 September 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  19. ^ "India's election results were more than a 'Modi wave'". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 May 2019. The BJP's primary rival, the centrist Indian National Congress (Congress), won only 52 seats.
  20. ^ "Election history of Kerala". CEO Kerala. Chief Election Officer, Kerala.
  21. ^ PTI (23 December 2010). "Who was K Karunakaran?". NDTV. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Congress(I) leader Karunakaran sworn in as Kerala CM". India Today. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  23. ^ Isaac, T. M. Thomas; Kumar, S. Mohana (1991). "Kerala Elections, 1991: Lessons and Non-Lessons". Economic and Political Weekly. 26 (47): 2691–2704. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4398338.
  24. ^ Menon, Girish (14 May 2001). "LDF swept out in Kerala". Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  25. ^ Anantha Krishnan (13 May 2011). "This story is from May 13, 2011 Kerala assembly elections 2011: UDF wins by narrow margin". Times of India. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  26. ^ Chandran, Cynthia (3 October 2020). "MM Hassan takes charge as the UDF convener". The New Indian Express.
  27. ^ Staff Writer (8 March 2021). "'New Kerala with Modi': NDA unveils campaign slogan ahead of assembly polls". mint. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  28. ^ "KM Mani: The man behind the 'Theory of the Toiling Class'". The New Indian Express. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  29. ^ "K M Mani honoured at British Parliament Hall". The New Indian Express. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  30. ^ "A coloured scheme of things". Archived from the original on 19 July 2023.
  31. ^ Bidyut Chakrabarty (2014). Communism in India: Events, Processes and Ideologies. Oxford University Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-19-997489-4.
  32. ^ "Indian citizenship act against humanity: Manoj Bhattacharya". prothomalo.com. March 2020.