Kerala’s local body elections have been officially declared and will be held in two phases on December 9 and 11. Vote counting is scheduled for December 13, and the new councils are expected to assume office by December 21.
As the election heat spreads across 23,576 wards in 1,199 local bodies, political fronts are bracing for a semifinal-like contest ahead of the crucial assembly polls next year. Even though the local polls will conclude by mid-December, all three fronts will soon have to begin preparations for the assembly election, which is only a few months away.
Beyond local issues, it is certain that parties will raise state-level matters to engage voters. The LDF is expected to highlight development projects such as the Vizhinjam port, infrastructure initiatives including road development, waste management projects, achievements in the education sector, and various welfare schemes. Notably, ahead of the local body polls, the Pinarayi Vijayan government announced a slew of sops targeting key demographics—including women, youth, over 60 lakh beneficiaries of social security pensions, and government employees.
For the ruling front, the key challenge lies in how the government’s performance over its extended term will be judged and reflected at the grassroots level. In recent months, the LDF has taken several social engineering measures to reach out to both majority Hindu communities and minorities. The government-backed high-profile event, the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, featured the participation of major Hindu community organisations such as the Nair Service Society (NSS) and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP).
The LDF also reached out to church leadership to discuss the ongoing standoff between the state government and Christian managements over the appointment of teachers in aided schools against vacancies reserved for differently-abled candidates. In the hijab row that emerged at a school in Kochi, the education minister and the LDF’s stance were widely appreciated by sections of the Muslim community as well.
However, controversies such as the Sabarimala gold theft case and the row over signing the PM SHRI agreement have, to some extent, offset the goodwill generated by these outreach efforts.
The UDF, meanwhile, is banking on voter discontent over crises in the health sector, the Sabarimala gold theft issue, and the alleged neglect of ASHA and anganwadi workers to sway voters at the grassroots. The front, however, has struggled to sustain the momentum it built in the aftermath of the successful Nilambur byelection campaign. Infighting within the Congress, along with sexual misconduct allegations against young party MLA Rahul Mankoottathil, is likely to resurface during the campaign. The factional realignment within the Congress may also become more clearer within the grand old party.
Breaking from tradition, the Congress announced its candidates early this time, giving it a head start in campaigning. The leadership believes that the impression of a well-prepared and confident party has resonated positively with voters. The UDF is also determined to use the state’s ongoing health sector lapses as a major campaign weapon, arguing that such failures have directly affected the common people. The government’s dismissive stance toward the concerns raised by a section of ASHA workers, the front believes, will be reflected in the polls. The UDF is also projecting the election-eve sops as a measure to “cover up the embarrassment” caused by the controversy over signing up for the PM SHRI project. Additionally, the UDF camp plans to keep the issue of the Sabarimala gold theft alive among believers by pinning responsibility on both the Devaswom Board and the government.
The BJP, led by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, is making strong moves to challenge both fronts by projecting a “Viksit Kerala” as an alternative political vision. The party’s focus is on consolidating the support of the middle and upper-middle classes. By directly engaging with beneficiaries of central schemes and countering the state government’s attempts to claim credit for them, the BJP leadership aims to ensure voter awareness and loyalty through pre-poll outreach programmes.
The NDA is giving particular focus to winning the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. It has fielded a high-profile list of 67 candidates in the first phase, including former DGP R. Sreelekha, Asian Games medallist and former Sports Council president Padmini Thomas, and state secretary V.V. Rajesh. Notably, in this local body election, Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s ability to lead the party into the crucial assembly polls will be put to the test. His efforts to rebrand the BJP from a predominantly Hindutva-driven organisation into a development-focused party—albeit with a tinge of saffron—will also be closely watched.
